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EDUCATIONAL VALUES 



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THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 

NEW YORK • BOSTON • CHICAGO 
SAN FRANCISCO 

MACMILLAN & CO , Limited 

LONDON • BOMBAY • CALCUTTA 
MELBOURNE 

THE MACMILLAN CO. OF CANADA, Ltd. 

TORONTO 



EDUCATIONAL VALUES 



BY 



WILLIAM CHANDLER BAGLEY 

PROFESSOR OF EDUCATION, UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS 

AUTHOR OF "THE EDUCATIVE PROCESS," "CLASSROOM 

MANAGEMENT," " CRAFTSMANSHIP IN TEACHING," ETC. 



THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 
1911 

All rights reserved 






Copyright, 191 i, 
By the MACMILLAN COMPANY. 



Set up and electrotyped. Published April, 1911. 



\ 



J. S. Gushing Co. — Berwick & Smith Co. 
Norwood, Mass., U.S.A. 



©CI.A2Sf;492 



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PREFACE 

The purpose of the present volume is stated in the 
Introduction, and a brief outline of the treatment is 
there presented. The book has grown gradually out 
of the early attempts of the writer to organize the 
methods of teaching upon a rational basis. Lacking 
such a basis of organization, the task of equipping can- 
didates for educational service with the experience that 
the preceding generations of teachers had accumulated 
seemed well-nigh hopeless. Lacking such a system, 
also, the adequate evaluation of new methods and new 
tendencies could not be satisfactorily accomplished. 
The terminology developed in the following chapters 
has proved helpful to the writer in his own classroom 
work. It is hoped that it may prove suggestive to 
others, and it is for this reason that it is presented. 

The time is perhaps not yet ripe for a final statement 
of educational functions ; this must await the satisfac- 
tory development of the science of psychology, espe- 
cially in the field of the higher thought-processes and 
in the field of the emotions. The recent investigations 
in these two fields, however, seem to warrant at the 
present time a tentative restateriient of educational 
doctrine. The time will never be ripe for a final state- 
ment of educational values, for values vary with the 
varying conceptions of the end of education. But in 
the proposed distinction between functions and values 
there is indicated, it is hoped, a group of educational 



VI PREFACE 

problems that may, after patient and painstaking inves- 
tigation, be solved once for all. These are the problems 
of function ; and the failure to make this distinction 
between the problems of function which can be solved 
by an appeal to positive science, and the problems of 
value which must ever recur with the changing con- 
ceptions of educational aims, lies at the basis of much 
of the present confusion in our educational discussions. 
All of the chapters in the present volume have under- 
gone many changes and revisions since they were first 
projected. These changes have been made at the 
suggestion of the friends of the writer, who have been 
so good as to go over the material from time to time 
and to point out the defects. That the present treatment 
is still so far from adequate is not at all the fault of 
these men ; without their kindly criticism, the writer 
would never have been spurred on to make the changes 
that now seem to him to constitute by far the most 
valuable portions of the book. To Mr. C. M. McConn, 
Registrar of the University of Illinois, and formerly 
Principal of the University Academy and Supervisor 
of Practice Teaching ; Superintendent E. A. Turner 
of the Training Department, Illinois State Normal 
University; Superintendent H. B. Wilson, of Decatur, 
Illinois; and Professor T. H. Briggs, of the Eastern 
Illinois Normal School, the writer's gratitude is due 
for this invaluable service. He would also acknowledge 
his indebtedness to his colleagues, Professor S. S. 
Colvin, Professor L. F. Anderson, and Dr. E. L. Norton, 
for many valuable suggestions. 

Urbana, Illinois, 

December 31, 19 10. 



TABLE OF CONTENTS 

INTRODUCTION 

FAGB 

Pqrpose and Plan of the Treatment xvii 

PART I 

THE CONTROLS OF CONDUCT 

CHAPTER I 

The Inherited Controls of Conduct 

I. Meaning of" conduct-control " ; instinct as a control of behavior in 
lower organisms. 2. Complexity of human conduct conditioned 
by complex nervous system ; hereditary and environmental 
forces as conditioning the two large classes of conduct-controls. 
3. Inherited controls of conduct ; distinction between reflex 
and instinctive movement. 4. Instincts in the human organ- 
isms ; the adaptive instincts. 5. Relation of the adaptive in- 
stincts to education. 6. Individualistic instincts and their 
relation to education. 7. Sex and parental instincts and their 
relations to education. 8. Social instincts ; educational signifi- 
cance of cooperation and sacrifice. 9. The important human 
instincts are general rather than specific in their operation. 
10, Three-fold problem of education with reference to instincts : 
sublimation, confirmation, utilization I 

CHAPTER II 

The Acquired Controls of Conduct 

A. Specific Habits 

I. The conservation of experience as the paramount problem of edu- 
cation ; conduct-controls as products of experience. 2. Classi- 
vii 



VIU TABLE OF CONTENTS 



fication of conduct-controls engendered by experience. 3. Habits 
as controls of conduct ; definition of a specific habit ; limitations 
of instinctive tendencies to form habits ; law of habit-building. 
4. Limitations and dangers of habit-formation. 5. Objections 
to the term '• generalized habit "; meaning of " mental " habits 14 



CHAPTER in 

The Acquired Controls of Conduct 

B. Ideas, Meanings, Concepts, Facts, and Principles 

I. Preliminary definition of terms ; ideas, etc., as intellectual 
controls. 2. Function of ideas in bringing past experience con- 
sciously to bear on present situations ; types of ideas ; illustra- 
tions. 3. " Meaning " as a " cue " to adjustment. 4. Concept 
as a synonym of idea and meaning. 5. An analysis of the 
influence of ideas in guiding conduct. 6. Facts and principles 
as formulations of relations existing between ideas. 7. Facts 
and principles function in guiding conduct as ideas function. 
8. Methodology of ideas, facts, and principles ; significance of 
the concrete. 9. The law of concept-building ; limitations 
of the " inductive " method of teaching. 10. Distinction be- 
tween development and instruction ; types of school exercises 
important in fixing ideas, facts, and principles, ii. Controls of 
this group important as "guides" to conduct; distinguished 
from " ends " or " purposes " 26 

CHAPTER IV 
The Acquired Controls of Conduct 
C. Ideals and Emotionalized Standards 

I. Conduct fundamentally controlled, not by the stimuli from the 
environment, but by the needs of the organism. 2. These 
needs are reflected first in the instincts, later in conscious pur- 
poses. 3. Relation of purpose to instinct. 4. Contributions 
of experience to consciousness of purpose. 5. Operation of 
ideals and standards in realization of purpose. 6. Structural 
• distinction between idea and ideal ; illustrations. 7. Functional 



TABLE OF CONTENTS IX 

PAGE 

distinction between idea and ideal ; the former a guide to real- 
ization of purpose, the latter an end or motive of conduct. 
8. The ethical "virtues" as standards of conduct. 9. The 
methodology of inspiration 54 

CHAPTER V 
The Acquired Controls of Conduct 

D. Prejudices and Tastes. E. Attitudes and Perspectives. Summary 

I. Prejudices as products of the repeated functioning of ideals. 
2. Tastes as related to prejudices. 3. Attitudes as the resultant 
of the operation of facts and principles. 4. The advantages 
of recognizing prejudices, tastes, and attitudes as controls of 
conduct; the doctrine of Bewusstseinslagen ; the doctrine of 
mental attitudes. 5. Relation of prejudices and attitudes 
to habit. 6. Prejudices and attitudes often determined by 
personality of teacher and general atmosphere of school. 
7. Methods of teaching are not radically modified by recog- 
nizing prejudices and attitudes as important outcomes of the 
educative process ; the principal point of practical application 
is in connection with the organization of subject-matter. 8. Gen- 
eral summary of Chapters II-V. 9. Advantages of the pro- 
posed classification of conduct-controls 64 

CHAPTER VI 

The Limitations of Educative Forces in Modifying Conduct 

I. Capacity to depart from the customary conduct of the race in 
the direction of improved efficiency is one of the marks of 
" genius." 2. Tentative statement of the relation of education 
to the development of genius : {a) education must raise genius 
to the race level. 3. {U) Educative forces may correct an 
otherwise unfortunate physical or physiological condition, and 
so permit genius to operate. 4. (r) Beyond this, the appear- 
ance of genius must be attributed to the factors of organic varia- 
tion ; the a priori argument to the contrary may be met on its 
own ground. 5. Investigations in the field of mental inheritance 
support this view: {a) Investigations into the conditions of 



TABLE OF CONTENTS 



eminence (Galton, de Candolle, Odin, Cattell) ; {b) Investiga- 
tions of heredity in royalty (Woods) ; (r) Studies of con- 
sanguineal resemblances in mental traits (Pearson, Galton, 
Thorndike). 6. Restatement of the conditions under which 
education can affect inherent capacity : (a) where environ- 
mental forces are equal, differences will be due to heredity. 
7. (^) Where environmental forces are radically different, great 
differences in conduct-types result. 8. {c) Genius raises the 
race to higher levels of conduct, education supports it at these 
levels. 9. {d) While civilization is only a "veneer" of im- 
proved conduct, it constitutes the most important distinction 
between advanced and backward peoples. 10. {i) Moral 
traits probably more amenable to modifying influence than in- 
tellectual capacity. 11. (/) The relation of environmental 
influences to the factors of zeal, ability, and capacity for work ; 
relation between heredity and training to be expressed as a 
product rather than as a sum. 12. General conclusion: power 
of education over conduct-controls may be increased when 
education clearly understands the processes that it employs. 
13. Negative evidence purposely emphasized .... 78 

PART II 

THE CLASSIFICATION OF FUNCTIONS AND VALUES 

CHAPTER VII 

The Criterion of Value 

Problem of the chapter. 2. The criterion of social efficiency as 
the standard for measuring educational values. 3. Criticisms 
of the social aim of educatioii ; (a) its objective nature 
which possibly minimizes the importance of aesthetic factors. 
4. Answers to this objection. 5. Reasons why social aim 
should hold the position of primacy. 6. Relation of intelli- 
gent choice to the primitive sanctions of pleasure and pain. 
7. (3) Acceptance of social aim still leaves open the question, 
What is the aim of society ? 8. Socially valuable achievement 
as the aim of life. 9. Acceptance of this aim does not rule out 
the emotions. 10. This conception provides a place in educa- 
tional psychology for the ethical concept of Duty . . .107 



TABLE OF CONTENTS XI 

CHAPTER VIII 
The Rubrics of Function and Value 

PAGB 

I. Foiiner discussions of educational values have confused problems 
of function with problems of" value. 2, Distinction between 
these two types. 3. Classification of functions. 4. Classifica- 
tion of values ; (a) utilitarian values. 5. Utilitarian values 
represented chiefly by (i) habits of skill, and (2) facts and 
principles. 6. Young's distinction between direct and contin- 
gent utility. 7. {b) Preparatory values ; their nature. 8. Il- 
lustrations of preparatory values. 9. (<r) Conventional values ; 
illustrations. 10. Socializing values 117 

CHAPTER IX 

Values to be Realized in Fulfilling the Training 

Functions 

I. Analysis of an average day's conduct in adult life seems to show 
very little direct influence of formal education ; this chapter 
proposes to examine the values of the habits fixed by school 
activities. 2. (a) Utilitarian value of habits gained from school 
exercises in language. 3. Utilitarian importance of training in 
reading. 4. The automatisms of number, and their economic 
importance. 5. Music and drawing from point of view of 
utility. 6. Manual training and economic efficiency. 7. {b) Pre- 
paratory value of habits ; the language arts. 8. The number 
arts. 9. Drawing and music. 10. Manual training, ii. Pre- 
paratory value of the principal secondary subjects. 12. {c) The 
conventional value of habits. 13. (^) The socializing value of 
habits. 14. Habit -building the most important task of ele- 
mentary education ; dangers and sources of waste involved in 
habit-building 128 

CHAPTER X 

Values to be Realized in Fulfilling the Instructional 

Functions 

I. {a) Utilitarian values of ideas, facts, and principles ; from the 
point of view of general education, this value is small. 



XU TABLE OF CONTENTS 



2. Arithmetic as the most important instructional subject from 
this point of view. 3. Utilitarian value of grammatical princi- 
ples. 4. Geographical facts possess slight utilitarian value. 
5. The utility of historical facts ; Spencer's contention ; its 
fallacies. 6. Spencer's view of the utility of physiology ; reasons 
why the utilitarian values of physiology are so infrequently 
realized. 7. Other subjects of the elementary curriculum. 
8. Conclusions with regard to elementary curriculum. 9. The 
secondary curriculum presents a similar condition. 10. Eng- 
lish instruction in the high schools with reference to economic 
efficiency. II. Foreign-language instruction. 12. Contingent 
utility of secondary mathematics. 13. Why secondary science 
fails to realize utilitarian values ; present tendencies that may 
correct this condition. 14. History and civics are not impor- 
tant from standpoint of utility. 15. Conclusions with regard 
to both elementary and secondary curriculums ; importance of 
training in the art of study. 16. (^) Conventional value of 
knowledge as such admittedly slight; where such values are 
to be realized, the process may be justified usually upon another 
basis. 17. (<:) Preparatory values of knowledge are especially 
important, especially in the development of concepts and mean- 
ings. 18. (d) The socializing value of knowledge is important 
in that facts and principles must form the guides for the real- 
ization of social ideals ; illustrations. 19. Suggestions for en- 
riching the curriculum from the social point of view ; importance 
of agriculture ; importance of educative materials drawn from 
tbe local environment I39 



CHAPTER XI 

Values to be Realized in Fulfilling Inspirational 

Functions 

Chief emphasis in this and following chapters will be upon social- 
izing values. 2. Restatement of difference between idea and 
ideal. 3. Importance of the emotional element in the develop- 
ment of ideals ; the individualistic instincts as sources of emo- 
tional force. 4. The sex and parental instincts and the ideals 
dependent upon them. 5. The adaptive instincts as sources of 
ideals. 6. Ideals that are based upon the play instincts. 7. The 



TABLE OF CONTENTS XUl 



instinct of imitation as the basis for ideals of construction. 
8. The ideal of reverence and its instinctive basis. 9. The 
ideal of achievement. 10. Educative forces influence the 
development of ideals both directly and indirectly; the direct 
influence the specific theme of the present chapter. 1 1. History, 
biography, and Hterature as media for the transmission of ideals ; 
illustrations from history. 12. The socializing importance of 
national ideals ; function of history in engendering these forces. 

13. Universal ideals engendered by a study of general history. 

14. Sources of the emotional force necessary to render national 
ideals effective. 15. Literature as a source of ideals. 16. The 
basic themes of fiction and the drama represent fundamental 
instincts. 17. Ideals are crystallized in plastic art; difficulty 
of utilizing these as educative materials. 18. A similar condi- 
tion confronts the educator in connection with music. 19. Re- 
ligion as a source of ideals. 20. Instinctive forces to which 
religion appeals. 21. Summary. 22. Tentative list of ideals 
which may be directly engendered by educative forces . .156 

CHAPTER XII 
Values to be Realized in Fulfilling Disciplinary Functions 

I. The present status of the formal-discipline controversy. 2. His- 
torical sketch of the controversy ; James's testimony ; Hins- 
dale's conclusions. 3. The Thorndike-Wopdworth experiments. 
4. Thorndike's conclusions. 5. Norsworthy's investigations. 
6. The Montana experiment. 7. General conclusions from 
these data negative. 8. The doctrine of transfer through 
ideals. 9. Ruediger's confirmation of this doctrine. 10. Im- 
portance of the emotional element, ii. General evidence in 
favor of transfer through a conscious process : (a) Ebert-Meu- 
mann experiments; (3) Coover-Angell experiments; (<:) Winch's 
experiments; (d) Fracker's experiments; (e) Ruger's experi- 
ments. 12. General conclusion. 13. Importance of the 
doctrine of transfer through ideals in furnishing a " cue " for 
educational method; illustrations. 14. Conditions under which 
disciplinary functions may be fulfilled. 15. Possibilities of 
conflict in values. 16. Illustrations of such a conflict in pure 
vs. applied science ; brief for pure science. 1 7. Brief for 



XIV TABLE OF CONTENTS 

PAGE 

applied science; Gilbert's experiment. i8. Solution of the 
antinomy. 19. The case for pure mathematics. 20. General 
conclusions with regard to science and mathematics. 21. The 
case for the ancient languages. 22. Conclusions with regard 
to the ancient languages. 23. A tentative list of ideals that 
may be engendered by fulfilling disciplinary functions . .180 

CHAPTER XIII 

Values to be Realized in Fulfilling Recreative Functions 

I. Recreative functions may be made to realize important socializing 
values. 2. Justification for fulfilling recreative functions: 
{a) a pleasurable state of mind increases the availability of 
energy. 3. {d) Instinctive pleasures sometimes inconsistent 
with social welfare; necessity for replacing these with higher 
pleasures. 4. Materials that may fulfill recreative functions: 
literature, art, and music. 5. Why these functions are often 
inadequately fulfilled; (a) the technique of teaching has not 
been sufficiently diff"erentiated as yet. 6. (^) Literature espe- 
cially is often given an artificial difficulty in competition with 
other subjects. 7. (c) It is often assumed in practice that 
every pupil may be made to admire every form of art. 8. His- 
tory as a source of recreative tastes. 9. Manual training and 
recreation. 10. Nature study and appreciation of nature. 
II. Other materials of the curriculum 216 

CHAPTER XIV 

Values to be Realized in Fulfilling Interpretive Functions 

I. Restatement of definitions of attitudes and perspectives. 2. Dif- 
ference between educated and uneducated individuals in general 
and specialized adjustments due to differences in these factors; 
illustrations of the operation of attitudes. 3. " Negative " ad- 
justment : its importance in life and its relation to general as 
distinguished from vocational education; illustrations. 4. Effec- 
tive attitudes and perspectives free the mind from the incubus 
of superstition; importance of solving perplexing problems irre- 
spective of their direct economic bearing. 5. Materials that 
may be made to fulfill an interpretive function; the natural 



TABLE OF CONTENTS XV 

PAGE 

sciences. 6. Science underlies all arts. 7. The chief function 
of history is interpretive. 8. The interpretive functions of lit- 
erature. 9. The importance of coherent theory in holding facts 
together 229 

CHAPTER XV 

The School Environment as a Source of Educative 
Materials 

Purpose of the chapter. 2. Habits and ideals the important 
resultants of school life as such. 3. Difficulties confronting the 
teacher in so organizing school life as to make it issue in valu- 
able controls. 4. The reaction of youth against adult control 
and direction. 5. The high-school fraternity problem in this 
connection. 6. Ideals and prejudices that may come out of 
school life; the ideal of social conduct. 7. The ideals of self- 
government; difficulties and dangers of self-governing bodies 
of pupils. 8. The ideals of democracy. 9. The importance 
of " habit -likeness " in civilized society 242 



INTRODUCTION 
Purpose and Plan of Treatment 

That education is, in the last analysis, a process of 
modifying conduct, is the fundamental thesis of the fol- 
lowing discussions. These discussions have a three- 
fold purpose. In the first place, they will attempt to 
classify the controls of conduct,- and to describe the 
various ways in which educative materials may influ- 
ence these controls. In the second place, they will 
attempt to evaluate, in terms of the social aim of educa- 
tion, the controls that education may furnish. In the 
third place, they will outline the specific methods through 
the operation of which educative materials may be made 
to fulfill the functions that are recognized as possessing 
value when measured by the social criterion. This last 
problem will be touched only incidentally in the present 
volume, leaving for subsequent treatment the systematic 
analysis of methods of organization and teaching in the 
light of the principles and hypotheses here developed. 

The first five chapters present a classification of the 
controls of conduct. The inborn or inherited controls 
are treated briefly in Chapter I, the chief emphasis being 
laid upon tbe relation of the instincts to education. In 
the four sub. ^quent chapters, the conduct-controls that 
result from experience are discussed in detail, with the 



XVm INTRODUCTION 

aim of indicating the genesis of these controls, and the 
general methods which education may employ to develop 
them. In this connection, the following factors are con- 
sidered in detail : (a) specific habits ; (b) ideas, concepts, 
meanings, facts, and principles, — generically, "knowl- 
edge," furnishing "interpolated" controls of conduct; 
(c) ideals and emotionaHzed standards, furnishing 
"final" or "ultimate" controls of conduct; (d) preju- 
dices and tastes, which may be looked upon as result- 
ants of ideals and standards; and (e) attitudes and 
perspectives, which may be looked upon as resultants 
of the "knowledge" group. 

In Chapter VI, the limitations of educative forces in 
developing conduct-controls are briefly considered. In 
this connection, the more important investigations in 
the field of mental inheritance are summarized, and an 
attempt is made to reconcile the results of these investi- 
gations with the aims and purposes of education. 

In Chapter VII, the ultimate aim of education is for- 
mulated as "social efficiency." The principal objections 
that have been urged against this conception are con- 
sidered, and the arguments in favor of accepting social 
efficiency as the criterion of educational value are briefly 
outlined. 

The two terms " function " and "value" are sharply 
differentiated in Chapter VIII, — the former being 
referred to the psychological processes t'irough which 
educative materials engender conduct ^controls ; the 
latter being reserved to include the judf;xAents regarding 



INTRODUCTION XIX 

the worth of the controls thus engendered when meas- 
ured by the accepted criterion of value. Functions are 
then grouped under the following heads : (a) the train- 
ing function, resulting in specific habits ; (b) the instruc- 
tional function, resulting in ideas, concepts, facts, and 
principles; (c) the inspirational function, resulting in 
ideals and emotionalized standards ; (d) the disciplinary 
function, resulting in ideals of method or procedure ; (e) 
the recreative function, resulting in tastes ; (/) the inter- 
pretive function, resulting in attitudes and perspectives. 
The classification of values follows, in the main, the cus- 
tomary grouping : (a) the utilitarian value attaches to 
controls which promote simple economic efficiency; 
(b) the preparatory value attaches to controls that do 
not necessarily function as direct guides or ends of social 
or economic conduct, but which form the basis for the 
acquisition of controls that do so function ; (c) the con- 
ventional value attaches to controls that possess worth 
only in so far as society takes it for granted that each 
individual shall be governed by them ; (d) the socializing 
value attaches to controls that, while unnecessary from 
the narrow economic and conventional points of view, 
make possible social stability and insure social progress. 
Chapters IX-XIV consider in detail the values that 
may be realized in fulfilling the six functions outlined 
above. This treatment involves a rapid survey of the 
elementary and secondary curriculums, and the effort is 
made to show how present problems of organization and 
method may be modified by the perspective which is 



XX INTRODUCTION 

furnished by the principles of function and value. 
Among other problems, the present controversy con- 
cerning "formal discipline" and the transfer of training 
is discussed in detail (Chapter XII), and the functions 
of "general" education, as distinguished from specialized 
or vocational education, are outlined in Chapters XII, 
XIII, and XIV. 

The life of the school as a source of educative mate- 
rials is briefly treated in the concluding chapter, the chief 
emphasis being placed upon the valuable habits and ideals 
that may be made to issue from the proper type of school 
organization. 



EDUCATIONAL VALUES 



PART I 
THE CONTROLS OF CONDUCT 

CHAPTER I 

The Inherited Controls of Conduct 

I. The first problem is to make clear the meaning of 
the term "conduct-control" as this term is used in the 
following pages. Conduct or behavior implies an ad- 
justment or response of the organism to some form of 
stimulation. Among the lower orders of life, this re- 
sponse is relatively simple. The range of adjustment is 
limited. A comparatively few types of behavior exhaust 
the possibilities. They consist in single, often unrelated, 
movements which follow upon the appropriate stimula- 
tion sometimes as mechanically as the ringing of an 
electric bell follows upon the pushing of the button. 
While such reactions vary with general external condi- 
tions, and with the general physiological state or "tone" 
of the organism, relative uniformity is their fundamental 
characteristic, and this relative uniformity is due to the 
narrow physiological and anatomical range of possible 
variation. It may be laid down as a general rule that, 
under the same physiological conditions, the same re- 
sponse inevitably follows upon the same stimulus. 



2 EDUCATIONAL VALUES 

Jennings characterizes the conduct of the lower animal forms 
in the following words: " What a given organism does under 
stimulation is Umited by its action system, and within these 
limits is determined largely by its physiological condition at 
the time stimulation occurs. In the lowest organism the 
action system confines the variations in behavior within 
rather narrow limits, and the different physiological condi- 
tions distinguishable are few in number ; hence the behavior 
is less varied than in the higher animals. But the difference 
is one of degree, not of kind." ^ 

2. With the advance of the organism in complexity of 
structure, and with the organization of differentiated 
parts and the consequent specialization of the functions 
of these parts, there is an accompanying development in 
the complexity, organization, and specialization of con- 
duct. Specialized sets of cells fulfill specialized functions 
in the economy of the animal's life. Nutrition, respira- 
tion, locomotion, and reproduction are taken care of 
by separate tissues, each adapted to do its own specific 
work, and each depending upon the others for the serv- 
ice which this high degree of specialization prevents it 
from doing for itself. 

The problem of adjustment in a complex animal form 
becomes, therefore, highly complicated. A multitude of 
activities must be made to work together harmoniously 
for the welfare of the organism as a whole. In meeting 
this problem there has been developed in the more com- 
plicated animal forms a master-tissue, — the nervous 

* H. S. Jennings : Behavior of the Lower Organisms, New York, 
IQ06, p. 281. 



THE INHERITED CONTROLS OF CONDUCT 3 

system. This master-tissue serves not only to har- 
monize the activities of the various groups of cells that 
fulfill the different functions of respiration, nutrition, 
locomotion, and reproduction, but also, in the highest 
organisms, to retain, in some way the mechanism of 
which is now shrouded in mystery, the experiences that 
the organism has undergone in the past, to bring these 
experiences to bear upon the problems of present ad- 
justment, and — in man, at least — to project adjust- 
ment into the future in time or into the distant in space 
and adapt the organism to situations that are not present 
or proximate. 

3. Human behavior represents the most complicated 
known type of adjustment, and the nervous system that 
governs it is the most complicated and highly organized 
tissue that has, so far as is now known, been developed 
by natural selection. Through the nervous system 
operate the forces that control conduct, and while it is 
impossible in the present state of our knowledge accu- 
rately to describe the mechanism of control, two large 
factors that are of especial significance to our present 
problem may be readily distinguished. These are 
(i) heredity, and (2) experience. 

In so far as both of these factors condition human 
conduct, — in so far as human conduct is governed in 
part by hereditary influences and in part by experi- 
ential influences, — we may speak of heredity and en- 
vironment as the two large rubrits of ''conduct-con- 
trols." Under each rubric, more specific controls are 



4 EDUCATIONAL VALUES 

to be identified, as the following analysis will in- 
dicate. 

4. Inherited Controls of Conduct. — These include 
(i) simple reflex movements, and (2) the more com- 
plicated instinctive movements and the conscious im- 
pulses with which the latter may be correlated. The 
spontaneous winking of the eyes is a type of reflex 
movement, and the ^'control" of conduct in this instance 
is the tendency of a reflex nerve center to respond me- 
chanically to a certain type of stimulation, — in this case 
an irritation of the sensory nerve endings in the cornea. 
An instinctive movement may be regarded as an organiza- 
tion of simpler reflex movements. It is, as it were, a 
chain of reflexes, the completion of one movement form- 
ing the stimulus for the "setting off" of the next, and so 
on until the chain is completed. Instinctive movements 
are further complicated by the fact that they are com- 
monly for the benefit of the body as a whole, rather than 
for the benefit of any one particular part or organ, and 
also by the fact that they are frequently initiated by a 
conscious "impulse " and, in general, are more frequently 
correlated with conscious processes than are the simpler 
reflexes.^ The nest-building activities of birds represent 
a very complex type of instinctive movement, running 

1 Cf. E. A. Kirkpatrick : Genetic Psychology, New York, 1909, p. 92 : 
" Where the reaction is of a part of the organism only, it is more properly 
called a reflex ; while more complex reactions of many parts for the good 
of the whole organism are designated as instincts. In the lower organ- 
isms reactions are largely reflex, while in higher animals, instincts become 
more and more prominent." 



THE INHERITED CONTROLS OF CONDUCT 5 

its course through a large number of simple reflexes 
until the important end has been attained. It is not 
probable that the bird is conscious of the end, but there 
is every reason to believe that conscious processes are 
correlated with many of the separate movements. In 
general, then, a group of coordinated activities con- 
trolled by inherited and not by experiential factors is 
called an instinctive movement, and the inherited tend- 
ency toward such movement is known as an instinct. 

5. Human conduct, like that of the lower animals, is 
subject to these instinctive controls. It is with these 
that education must start, and upon these its processes 
must ultimately be based, no matter how far it goes or 
how elaborately it organizes and refines its methods. 
It is essential, therefore, that the student of education 
understand the nature of instinct and the relation of 
educative processes to instinctive forces. 

While no type of instinctive tendency is without its 
relation to education, certain classes of instincts are 
particularly significant in this connection. Of the great- 
est importance, perhaps, are the adaptive instincts, — 
play, curiosity, imitation, and repetition. 

The instinct of play manifests itself in the spontaneous 
impulse to activity of various sorts that has no end or purpose 
other than the mere enjoyment which this activity brings. '^ 
Spencer maintained that the function of this activity was sim- 
ply to provide an outlet for the "excess energy" accumulated 
in the system. Karl Groos, however, called attention to the 
fact that the purely spontaneous plays of childhood very fre- 
quently involve adjustments essential to the preservation 



6 EDUCATIONAL VALUES 

of life under primitive conditions. Thus among all races 
of people certain uniform types of play-activity are to be 
found, — "hide-and-seek" and other hunting games which 
tend to develop certain types of skill needed in hunting; 
"prisoner's base" and similar games of mimic warfare; 
playing with dolls, which gives expression to the maternal 
impulse. Groos's conclusion that the play impulse has 
developed through natural selection as a means of adapt- 
ing the organism to its future environment has been a very 
fruitful contribution to the theory of childhood. It was one 
of the earliest recognitions of a principle that has done much 
to enlighten educational practice, — the principle, namely, 
that there has been provided in the adaptive instincts a "nat- 
ural" basis for the educative process. ^ 

Curiosity as an adaptive instinct expresses itself in the un- 
reasoned impulse to investigate, — to determine the nature 
especially of what is new and strange in one's environment, — 
without conscious reference to the use to which the knowledge 
thus obtained may be put. This impulse to investigate be- 
yond the immediate needs of the moment is obviously the 
basis of all knowledge and its adaptive function is clearly 
apparent.^ 

1 Cf. K. Groos: Play of Man (tr. E. L. Baldwin), New York, 1901, 
pp. 361 ff. ; E. A. Kirkpatrick : Genetic Psychology, New York, 1909, 
p. 100; S. H. Rowe: Habit-Formation, New York, 1909, p. 75. 
Stanley Hall {Adolescence, New York, 1905, vol. i, pp. 202 flf.) pro- 
poses a theory of play differing somewhat both from that of Groos and 
from that of Spencer. He maintains that the spontaneous play of child- 
hood has its chief function in gratifying in a wholesome and vicarious 
fashion the impulses that were essential to survival at an earlier period 
in race history, but which are no longer significant. Their persistence, 
however, indicates their deeply seated character; they form, as Hall 
figuratively expresses it, "vestigial organs of the soul," and like certain 
other vestigial functions, a certain amount of activity is essential if de- 
velopment is to be normal. ^ Cf. Kirkpatrick, op. cit., p. 102. 



THE INHERITED CONTROLS OF CONDUCT 7 

The instinct of imitation manifests itself in the unreasoned 
impulse to copy the adjustments that are made by others when 
there is no consciousness of the purpose of adjustment : merely 
copjang the movement is sufi&cient to gratify the impulse. 
It is clear, however, that an instinct of this sort is particularly 
important in developing the types of conduct that are im- 
portant in civilized life. Without the imitative impulse, the 
task of education, especially in its earlier stages, would be diffi- 
cult in the extreme, — if not, indeed, insurmountable. ^ 

Closely related to the imitative impulse is the impulse to 
what Baldwin terms the "circular reaction." In this case, 
the individual, instead of copying the adjustments of another, 
repeats or copies some adjustment that he has made himself 
(either accidentally or through imitation). This repetition 
of a reaction is clearly seen in children from the ninth month 
on, becoming, of course, less and less frequent in its occurrence 
as useful adjustments are made habitual. It is to be noted 
that the individual is not necessarily conscious of the purpose 
of the repetition. The mere pleasure that it affords gives it 
a sufficient sanction. The adaptive function of this impor- 
tant impulse is clearly apparent. It is the instinctive basis 
for what is termed in formal education, "drill" or training. 

6. The recognition of the adaptive instincts and an 
understanding of the many ways in which they con- 
tribute to the solution of the problem of education have 
been among the most important of the recent advances 
in educational science. Like all important discoveries, 
they have undoubtedly led to extreme practices. While 

1 The importance of the instinct of imitation was first clearly pointed 
out by J. M. Baldwin {Mental Development: Methods and Processes, 
New York, 1906, pp. 249 £f.) and by G. Tarde : The Laws of Imitation 
(tr. Elsie C. Parsons), New York, 1903, ch. i; cf. also Kirkpatrick, op. 
ciL, p. loi. 



8 EDUCATIONAL VALUES 

nature has provided adaptive instincts that will, in a 
certain measure, automatically educate the child, — 
that is, lead him to acquire the experiences that are 

( essential to life in civilized society, — it should not be 
forgotten that this automatic education has very decided 
limitations and that an educational system depending 
upon these entirely is not likely to carry the individual 

, very far. Curiosity, play, imitation, and the spontane- 
ous repetitive impulse may very well serve, one may say, 
as the starting point of an educative process that very 
soon carries the individual beyond these unreasoned 
impulses into the realm of purposeful action. While 
the instincts form the basis of education, they are, after 
all, only the basis. 

Curiously enough, the repetitive impulse has not been recog- 
nized in educational practice as a sanction for a certain type 
drill that is essential to the acquisition of skill in a number of 
fundamental adjustments. It is sometimes said that a child 
should never be subjected to drill processes for which he can 
see no reason. A familiar precept, based upon this principle, 
is the warning against requiring pupils to mechanize rules and 
formulae that they do not understand. While this precept 
is, in general, a safe guide to educational practice, it may 
easily be carried too far, and an extreme generaHzation of its 
implications is obviously quite contradicted by nature's own 
method of insuring the formation of necessary habits. 

On the other hand, a sole dependence upon the repetitive 
impulse to form the necessary habits would be quite futile. 
So far as natural selection has fixed this impulse, it seems to be 
narrowly limited to the more obvious adjustments absolutely 
essential to social life. Thus, through instinctive repetition, 



THE INHERITED CONTROLS OF CONDUCT 9 

the child masters the mechanism of speech, but only in a com- 
paratively crude way. For many of the arts and automatisms 
that the more highly developed social Hfe requires, the limited 
repetition that this impulse would provide is quite inadequate. 
In other words, the pleasant affective tone which has, through 
natural selection, come to attach to certain t3qDes of repetition, 
during a certain period of childhood, fails to attach itself 
to the longer and more tedious series of repetitions essential 
to the formation of the more complicated habits. It is 
the failure to recognize this limitation that constitutes the 
fallacious element in the doctrines of the neo-Rousselian 
school of "natural education." 

7. Of the individualistic instincts, — the unreasoned 
tendencies to such adjustment as will tend to preserve 
the organism in conflict with his fellows, — the instinct 
of emulation is probably most significant to education. 

The Hmits within which the emulative impulse may be en- 
couraged and consequently confirmed in educational practice 
have long been the subject of controversy. Of the strength 
of this impulse among normal individuals there can be no 
doubt, and all teachers will testify to its efficiency as the 
source of what is perhaps the most powerful school incentive 
— rivalry. Theoretically, the danger of employing it exten- 
sively lies in the self -centered ideals which it may engender. 
Since all ideals have an emotional and consequently instinctive 
basis, it is necessary to inquire seriously whether the employ- 
ment of any instinctive impulse in the work of education may 
not, in the end, do more harm than good by developing a con- 
duct-control that is quite inconsistent with the fundamental 
aim of education. This problem must be left to a later section 
for detailed consideration. 



lO EDUCATIONAL VALUES 

8. The sex and parental instincts are of more vital 
import to education than is commonly recognized. 
These impulses form the basis of the prime controls of 
human conduct from adolescence on. How to develop 
from these impulses the ideals that must be developed 
if education is to fulfill its function in social life is a prob- 
lem that must also be left for further treatment in the 
discussion of ideals. 

The investigations in the field of "psycho-analysis" indicate 
very clearly that the sex-instincts are vastly more fundamen- 
tal and important, even in the life of children, than education 
has hitherto recognized. It is, as yet, too early to predict 
what modifications of present-day educational practices will 
be made necessary by researches in this new field ; but every 
indication points to some discoveries in the near future that 
will compel the educator to take very serious account, not 
only of the awakened sex impulses of the adolescent but also 
of the premonitions of sex-consciousness that are normal 
with very young children.^ 

9. The social instincts, — the unreasoned tendencies 
to seek companionship, to cooperate, and to sacrifice 
oneself for the welfare of the group, — are so late in 
their development, and so intricately interwoven with 
experiential factors, that their instinctive basis is often 

^ "According to the findings of psycho-analysis, the sexual life of 
children is much richer, both physically and mentally, than is generally 
believed, and . . . the manner of its development is of decisive impor- 
tance for the whole life-history of the individual." — E. Jones : "Psycho- 
Analysis and Education," Journal of Educational Psychology, vol. i, 1910, 
p. 504. Cf., also, S. Freud: Selected Papers on Hysteria (tr. A. A. 
Brill), New York, 1909, ch. ix. 



THE INHERITED CONTROLS OF CONDUCT II 

quite obscured. So far as education is concerned, it is 
perhaps sufficient to recognize that there is an inborn 
tendency that makes toward cooperation and sacrifice. 
It is very doubtful, however, whether this tendency can 
be depended upon to insure the elaborately organized 
altruistic adjustments that a complicated social structure 
necessitates. In other words, natural selection has pro- 
vided, as usual, only for such adjustments as are essential 
to bring the race to a plane upon which the conscious- 
ness of purpose may function effectively in providing 
more highly specialized controls much more adequately 
adapted to the needs of a constantly changing social 
environment. 

lo. In general, the instincts of man may be character- 
ized as conduct-controls which are general rather than 
specialized or particularized in their function. Highly 
specialized instinctive movements (such as the nest- 
building instinct in birds) would be a decided disadvan- 
tage in the human species. The characteristic feature of 
human life is its adaptability, and any high degree of 
specialization in the tendencies to conduct that are 
transmitted as instincts through the germ cell would 
stand squarely in the road of human progress. 

The general acceptance of the doctrine of the non-inheri- 
tance of modifications through the germ cell has occasioned a 
pessimistic outlook among some students of society. If the 
improved adjustment's that each generation toilsomely ac- 
quires are not transmitted through the germ cell ; if the race 
is not growing better through the experience of each succeed- 



12 EDUCATIONAL VALUES 

ing generation ; if each child must start on the same physical 
and physiological plane that its ancestors of three thousand 
years ago started on ; then what is progress or civilization but 
a mere veneer which may be scraped off completely if a single 
generation fails in its paramount duty of training and educat- 
ing its offspring ? 

Whether human progress is or is not a mere veneer, it is 
true that the failure of social heredity to transmit its worthy 
elements would serve to eliminate every trace of civilization 
within a very brief period. But far from being depressed by 
this condition, one should take from it the largest measure of 
comfort. The fixation of habit in instinct would simply mean 
the inevitable perpetuation of inadequate habits. How far 
the customs and skills of to-day are removed from those of a 
century ago is frequently remarked. Certainly some of the 
elements that have been lost were well worth preserving ; but, 
on the whole, man may be thankful that he is not required to 
carry about in his nervous system a multitude of specialized 
tendencies acquired by his ancestors in response to some re- 
mote environmental need, but totally unadapted to present 
conditions. It is quite enough of a burden for him to have 
embedded in his nervous system a few instincts, the utiHty of 
which has been outlived. These were provided by natural 
selection in some period far antedating human history, but, 
like the vermiform appendix, they are only a source of trouble 
and vexation to-day. If the habit-modifications acquired by 
each of one's ancestors were similarly reflected in one's 
nature, how hopeless would be the problem of adaptation ! 

II. The task of education with reference to the 
instincts is threefold: (i) Certain instinctive controls 
must be "sublimated"; that is, the energy that they 
release must be directed to ends other than those indi- 



THE INHERITED CONTROLS OF CONDUCT 1 3 

cated by the primitive instincts themselves. The few 
but troublesome unsocial or anti-social impulses are in 
this class, — the impulse to appropriate what pleases 
one; the impulse to inflict bodily injury upon those 
against whom the f eehng of resentment has been aroused ; 
the impulse to follow the strongest external stimulus 
regardless of its bearing upon the remote ends that one 
seeks to attain ; the impulse to seek change and variety; 
and, in the ever-lengthening period that elapses between 
physiological and economic maturity, the imperious sex 
and parental instincts. 

(2) In the second place, certain instincts must be con- 
firmed and given the sanction of repeated experience. 
Chief among these are the comparatively weak instincts 
of cooperation and sacrifice. 

(3) Finally, certain instincts form the basis of incen- 
tives or natural interests which may be directed toward 
the acquisition of controls that may be quite unrelated 
to the instincts employed as means. Among these are 
the instinct of emulation, the '^property " instinct, and 
especially the adaptive instincts, — play, curiosity, imita- 
tion, and repetition. 



CHAPTER II 

The Acquired Controls of Conduct. (A) Specific 

Habits 

I. The power to rise above the operation of blind 
instinct, and to control conduct in the light of experience 
and conscious purpose, is the most significant human 
prerogative. It is the prime task of education to see to 
it that the useful modifications of conduct that have been 
accumulated with the experience of the race are trans- 
mitted safely from generation to generation. Physical 
heredity, so far as is now known, cannot transmit these 
modifications through the germ cell. As was pointed out 
in the last chapter, the physical inheritance of modifica- 
tions would doubtless prove a disadvantage rather than 
a benefit to man. The shortcomings of physical heredity ^ 
in this regard place a correspondingly heavy responsi- 
bility upon social heredity, and in social heredity, formal 
education is the important factor. 

The paramount problem of education becomes, there- 
fore, the conservation of experience; and the materials 
of education are the controls of conduct which represent 
the resultants of that experience. Of these controls, not 
all are worthy of perpetuation. Changing conditions 
bring changed needs and demand new adjustments. 

14 



THE ACQUIRED C0I>7TR0LS OF CONDUCT 1 5 

Thus the task of selecting for survival the essential ele- 
ments of experience is one of the most troublesome 
constructive problems of the educator. Subsequent 
chapters will attempt to Jay down certain principles 
that may serve as a guide in this selection; but, as a 
preliminary to this discussion, it will first be necessary 
to define and classify the conduct-controls that come 
out of experience, and which constitute the materials 
with which education has to deal. 

2. The following outline will indicate at a glance the 
various rubrics of classification that will be followed in 
the subsequent discussions : — 

I. Acquired automatic controls of conduct. 

(a) Specific habits. 
II. Acquired conscious controls of conduct in which the sen- 
sory or intellectual element predominates. 

(a) Ideas, concepts, meanings. 

(b) Facts and principles. 

III. Acquired conscious controls of conduct in which the 
affective or emotional element predominates. 

(a) Ideals. 

(b) Emotionalized standards. 

IV. Acquired controls of conduct which evince some of the 
characteristics of habits, while still retaining many 
features characteristic of the conscious controls. 

(a) Those in which the affective or emotional element 
predominates: tastes; prejudices. 

(b) Those in which the sensory or intellectual element 
predominates : attitudes ; perspectives. 

3. Habits as Controls of Conduct. The most obvious 
resultant of experience is the group of specific habits 



1 6 EDUCATIONAL VALUES 

that control so large a part of human conduct. A specific 
habit is a mode of response that has been acquired 
through experience, and has then, through repetition, 
been reduced to an automatic form. This does not 
necessarily mean that the response thereafter is uncon- 
scious. One may be thoroughly aware of an automatic 
adjustment. The significant characteristic of a specific 
habit lies in the fact that the various elements 
making up the response follow upon one another 
automatically. The stimulus to the response may or 
may not come into consciousness; but if, at any point 
of the series, hesitation occurs and consciousness is 
called upon to direct the movement, or to choose between 
alternate possibiHties of action, the response, at that 
point at least, loses its automatic character, and becomes 
a matter of judgment, — in other words, comes under 
the guidance of ideas. 

The automatic spelHng of a word illustrates the salient 
features of a specific habit. So long as the writing of the 
word follows immediately upon the stimulus (in this instance 
the idea of the word, or its auditory perception in case it is 
dictated), the response is automatic. Should doubt arise as 
to the proper sequence of letters, however, the form becomes 
focalized in attention, and the automatic character of the 
writing is lost. Consciousness is now called upon to direct the 
process. 

The making of a chain by a blacksmith may illustrate an- 
other type of habit. Here a large number of related move- 
ments must first be coordinated or related to one another by 
imitation or instruction. At this stage the process is con- 



THE ACQUIRED CONTROLS OF CONDUCT 1 7 

trolled by judgment ; there are infinite possibilities of move- 
ment, from which the apprentice must consciously select those 
that are effective. Gradually successive phases of the process 
become automatic ; the simpler adjustments follow upon one 
another without conscious control. As practice proceeds, 
these segments of automatic responses gradually merge into 
larger automatic wholes, until finally perhaps only a fleeting 
^'awareness" of certain "cues" (the hue of the metal when it 
is ready for bending and welding; the "feel" of the hammer- 
blow that indicates cold and unyielding iron ; the perception 
of form that means one more link completed) is all that con- 
sciousness need concern itself with. 

4. As was suggested in the last chapter, habits may be 
initiated by imitation, and carried to the plane of au- 
tomatism by the instinctive delight in rhythmic repeti- 
tion. But, as was also suggested, the instinctive basis 
for habit-forming will not carry the individual very far, 
for it will not provide for the complicated forms of ad- 
justment and for the consequent multiplication of repe- 
titions essential to their automatic functioning. The 
individual here as elsewhere must rise above instinct if 
he is to achieve a significant measure of progress. It is 
at this point that the conscious direction of the educa- 
tive process becomes absolutely essential. 

The law of habit building becomes, therefore, the 
basis of a large and important part of formal educa- 
tion. This law consists of three articles : {a) Focaliza- 
tion ^ of consciousness upon the process to be made 

1 It is true that fortunate variations in an adjustment may come about 
without the intervention of consciousness, but the building of these 
c 



l8 EDUCATIONAL VALUES 

automatic ; (b) attentive repetition of this process ; {c) per- 
mitting no exceptions until automatism results. These 
three articles should be supplemented in practice by a 
recognition of the beneficial influence which a proper 
motivation or initiation may exert upon all stages of the 
habit-forming process. 

The implications of this fundamental principle have been 
so thoroughly worked out by Dr. S. H. Rowe ^ that they need 
not detain us long at this point. In general, a habit may be 
focaHzed either by demonstration (that is, by giving the indi- 
vidual who is to form the habit a clear-cut example of the way 
in which the adjustments are to be made), by trial and error 
and chance success (placing the individual face to face with a 
situation to which he must adjust himself in various ways until 
he " stumbles upon " the appropriate response), or by judgment 
(placing the individual in contact with the situation but letting 
him "reason out" the appropriate adjustment rather than 
blunder into it bhndly). Each one of these three methods has 
its advantages and its special fields of effective apphcation. 

In securing attentive repetition, it is essential that the 
"practice" essential to automatism should be under condi- 
tions that will prevent the distraction of attention through the 

variations into useful habits is largely a matter of focalized recognition. 
Cf. the following from Ruger's report of his investigations in the psy- 
chology of efiQciency {Archives of Psychology, No. 15, June, 1910, pp. 14 f.) : 
"It has been maintained by some that variations in method are most 
effective when they are not attended to, when they come and also build 
themselves into habits 'unconsciously' or 'marginally' rather than 'con- 
sciously' or * focally.' The results of the puzzle experiments are in accord 
with this view so far as the coming of variations is concerned, but not as 
to the subsequent relations, the employment of the variations." 

^ Cf. Hahit-Building and the Science of Teaching, New York, 1909^ 
chs. vii, viii, ix, and x. 



THE ACQUIRED CONTROLS OF CONDUCT 1 9 

almost inevitable monotony of the task. Inattentive repeti- 
tion before the correct adjustments have become automatic 
places a premium upon inadequate habits because of the ex- 
ceptions that are certain to occur. This is one reason why 
practice should, so far as possible, be effectively motivated, — 
that is, the individual undergoing the discipline should have, 
if possible, a strong incentive for making perfect responses. 
Short periods of practice and the provision of devices that 
introduce a superficial variety while preserving the funda- 
mental uniformity of the adjustment are also important in 
this phase of habit-building. 

The prevention of exceptions should be the result of the at- 
tentive repetition. The disadvantage of permitting excep- 
tions lies in the probability that they may undo the work 
of the preceding repetitions as well as initiate inadequate 
habits. 

Initiative may be insured in a variety of ways. Ambition 
to acquire skill, hope of rewards and fear of penalties, a desire 
to produce some material product, competition and rivalry, 
dehght in group and rhythmic activity (as in military drill, 
dancing, singing, etc.), — each of these may be used under 
appropriate conditions. In complex processes of habit-for- 
mation, it will be necessary to employ several types of incen- 
tives and motives, — now one will be most effective, now 
another. It may belaid down as a general rule that the incen- 
tive should be related as closely as possible to the field in which 
the habit is to function later. It is fairly well established that 
specific habits fimction readily only in situations in which 
they have been developed, or in the situations closely similar. 
But the similarity of one situation to another depends largely 
upon subjective factors. Consequently, the motives and in- 
centives employed in the formation of habits may determine 
in large measure the efficiency with which these habits 
operate in later Hfe. 



20 EDUCATIONAL VALUES 

5. Rousseau looked with suspicion upon habit-build- 
ing as a phase of education. He would have Emile 
form but one habit, — and that the habit of forming no 
habits whatsoever. This extreme view could not, of 
course, be defended in the light of what we now know 
concerning the control of human conduct. Habit stands 
to man as instinct stands to the lower animals; and 
the youth who reaches maturity without having made 
a multitude of useful responses thoroughly automatic 
will be poorly adjusted to the conditions of social life. 
And yet, like many extreme statements, Rousseau's 
dictum contains its germ of truth, — its warning against 
the dangers that lie in the opposite extreme. Habit- 
building is a laborious and time-consuming process, and 
whenever the educator prescribes that a habit or a set 
of habits is to be formed by all children, there should be 
sound reason back of his prescription. The task of 
selecting the habits that are essential is one of the 
heaviest burdens laid upon the educational administra- 
tor. Not to form the essential habits during the plastic 
period is to commit an irremediable blunder; to form 
useless habits is not only to consume valuable time and 
energy, but also to load the individual with automatic 
responses, the very fixity of which may be his un- 
doing. 

What habits should be formed at various stages of 
the educative process will be considered in another sec- 
tion. It is sufficient here to note certain principles that 
will underlie the choice. Specific habits may be con- 



THE ACQUIRED CONTROLS OF CONDUCT 21 

veniently grouped into two classes; (i) habits of skill, 
and (2) habits of manner. \ 

Habits of skill are typically represented by the handicrafts, 
such as wood working, metal working, and weaving, and by 
certain processes involved in the arts of husbandry, seaman- 
ship, trade, and the like. The more complicated types of 
skill represented by these arts are the products of a long period 
of evolution through which the experiences of successive gener- 
ations have been accumulated and sifted. Consequently the 
problem of their transmission from generation to generation 
is of paramount importance to the welfare of the race. Many 
of these habits of skill, like other specialized forms of response, 
were developed under the stress of conditions that no longer 
prevail, and have thus lost their usefulness. Machinery 
has rendered it possible for a once important group of skill- 
habits, Uke those employed in manipulating the hand loom, 
to lapse. Society no longer requires its members to be profi- 
cient in a large number of handicrafts. 

The advocates of manual training have made extensive use 
of this fact as an argument for reinstating in the school some 
of the arts that machinery has rendered unnecessary. The 
argument does not always discriminate between the learning of 
a useless art and the indirect training-products that are as- 
sumed to come from its mastery. It is unquestioned that • \ 
practicing arts now useless may give the child a clearer under- / 
standing of the industrial processes, and a keener appreciation 
of what science and invention in the field of mechanics have 
accompHshed for the human race. How much of this sort 
of training should be given is a matter of dispute, but it seems 
clearly evident that a high degree of skill is not essential to 
these ends. Beyond this, however, there are certain types of 
skill that are important enough to-day to warrant the ex- 
penditure of some time and attention in their mastery. 



22 EDUCATIONAL VALUES 

The ability to use tools efficiently in the fashioning of useful 
articles from both wood and metal would be of direct utilitarian 
value to almost every individual living under present conditions. 

Habits in these fields, however, are not of so much concern 
to general (as distinguished from technical) education, as are 
the more general habits of skill that must be acquired by every 
individual. In this class, the habits of speech, of written 
language, and of computation are easily the most significant 
to the social life. 

Habits of manner, or customs, are distinguished from habits 
of skill only by partaking more of the conventional, and less of 
the utiHtarian, nature. Educationally they are particularly 
important, because they crystallize the social ideals of the race. 
The amenities of social conduct have, Hke the arts and skills, 
been developed through a long period of evolution. As with 
habits of skill, there is constant danger of losing these amen- 
ities through a failure of the educative process to inculcate 
them faithfully in each generation. So long, of course, as 
they are well represented in the social life, informal education, 
working largely through imitation, will guarantee their sur- 
vival. But when, through changing conditions, customs and 
amenities of manner that are unquestionably of fundamental 
social value are gradually relaxed, it becomes the paramount 
duty of formal education to insure their perpetuation. For- 
mal education has also a function in generalizing throughout 
society the social amenities that have developed in certain 
groups or classes ; provided, of course, that these are worthy 
of generahzation. Thus the habits of courtesy and gentle 
manners, the habits of hospitality and of regard for the feelings 
of others, — which were originally limited to the leisure classes, 
— may, through formal education, be extended to all classes 
of society ; and this must be done in a democracy if democ- 
racy is to "level up," rather than to ''level down"; where 
all are of the "nobiUty," noblesse oblige must be universal. 



THE ACQUIRED CONTROLS OF CONDUCT 23 

6. Thus far the term ^^ habit" has been used to refer 
exclusively to specific motor responses that have been 
acquired through experience, and reduced to the plane 
of automatic functioning through repetition. The word 
"habit" has been employed too loosely in the literature 
of educational psychology. The line has not been 
drawn sharply between modes of response that are un- 
questionably of this specific character and other conduct- 
controls that are related in one way or another to habit 
as thus conceived, but which must not be confused with 
this simple type. The term ''general habit" or "gen- 
eralized habit" has sometimes been used to denote a 
conduct-control that seems to the writer both important 
enough in itself, and sufficiently different from simple 
habit, to deserve a distinctive name. Confusion has also 
resulted from differentiating between "mental" and 
"physical" habits, or between "habits of thought" and 
"habits of action." 

In the following pages, the term "habit" will be em- 
ployed with reference to any acquired mode of response, 
the separate ingredients of which (the component simpler 
responses) have at one time or another been coordinated 
or associated through conscious control, but in which 
the connections are, in the completed habit, quite me- 
chanical. This will, of course, include fixed associations 
of ideas in so far as these associations are between motor 
responses which are symbols of the ideas. Thus the 
formula, "Six sevens, forty-two," is a specific habit. 
The association between the symbols "six sevens" and 



24 EDUCATIONAL VALUES 

''forty- two" has become mechanical through repetition. 
''Forty- two" is the motor response to the stimulus "six 



As will be seen in the sequel, it is difficult to draw funda- 
mental distinctions between habits and ideas. The bond that 
associates image and meaning is to be looked upon as a type 
of habit. On the other hand, it is fatal from the point of 
view of educational practice not to make a distinction. The 
methodology of fixing habits in the process of education is 
quite different from the methodology of implanting ideas. 
Experience that is to function unerringly as habit must be ac- 
quired differently from experience that is to function adap- 
tively in thought and judgment. The chief imphcations of 
this distinction must be left for the following chapter. 

In place of the term "generalized habit" which has 
given rise to so much difficulty in educational psy- 
chology, the writer will use certain terms, the meanings 
of which will be developed in a subsequent section. 
These terms are "prejudices," "attitudes," "perspec- 
tives," and "tastes." That the conduct-controls de- 
noted by these various terms have marked relations 
with the simpler habits just discussed, the following chap- 
ters should abundantly prove ; that they should not be 
confused with simple habits should also be clearly ap- 
parent. In general, the basis of these conduct-controls 
that are so closely related to habit is the "propensity" 
which any automatic form of response tends to develop. 
A propensity is primarily an affective or emotional phe- 
nomenon. It expresses itself typically in a feeling of 



THE ACQUIRED CONTROLS OF CONDUCT 25 

discontent or irritation when, for any reason, a stimulus 
that normally gives rise to an automatic response fails 
to evoke that response. As Stout expresses it, ^' Every 
interruption to our routine way of doing things is felt 
as a disturbance or annoyance." ^ 

1 G. F. Stout : Analytic Psychology, London, 1896, vol. i, p. 259. See 
also, Rowe, op. cit., p. 35 ; B. R. Andrews : "Habit," American Journal 
of Psychology, vol. xiv, 1903, p. 137. 



CHAPTER III 

The Acquired Controls of Conduct. {B) Ideas, 
Meanings, Concepts, Facts, and Principles 

I. It was pointed out in the preceding chapter that 
experience may influence conduct through the specific 
habits that are formed by repetition of the same reaction. 
These habits come gradually to control the customary 
and unvarying adjustments of life. When new situa- 
tions arise, however, the specific habits already formed 
are frequently inadequate, and a new synthesis is re- 
quired; that is, adjustments already mastered must be 
put together in a new way. This process of solving new 
problems or new situations in the light of former experi- 
ence may be termed the process of judgment, and it is 
in this process that the controls of conduct to be dis- 
cussed in the present chapter have their function. 

This distinction between habit and judgment may be illus- 
trated by any act of attention in normal adult life. If, for 
example, I am in the habit of taking a certain street car at a 
certain time every day, there is very little conscious direction 
of my conduct in so far as this specific adjustment is concerned. 
Attention may well occupy itself with other matters, leaving 
to habit the direction of my steps to the street corner, the hail- 
ing of the car, the mounting of the steps, and all of the other 
concatenated adjustments that, taken together, enable me to 

26 



THE ACQUIRED CONTROLS OF CONDUCT 27 

reach my destination. But if, on reaching the corner, my car 
fails to appear at the usual time, and if I learn from a passer-by 
that an accident around the next corner has "tied up" all the 
traffic, a new situation is presented to which I must attend, 
and toward the solution of which I must now collect and ar- 
range my "ideas," — my "knowledge" of other possible 
means of reaching my destination. In other words, I immedi- 
ately begin to "think" how I am to solve the problem, — and 
this "thinking" involves the recall of "ideas," "meanings," 
"concepts," "facts," or "principles," which we term, generi- 
cally, knowledge. 

2. But what is the nature of these conduct-controls 
that may come to one's assistance when the specific 
habits that one has formed are inadequate, and how do 
they differ, both in their nature and in their method of 
operation, from specific habits ? To answer these ques- 
tions in a satisfactory degree of completeness would in- 
volve far more space than can here be given to the task. 
It will be possible, however, to indicate some of the 
chief characteristics of these important controls, as well 
as some of the more striking differences between "ideas" 
and "habits." 

It should be said at the outset that the three terms, 
"idea," "meaning," and "concept," are virtually syn- 
onymous as they are used in the following discussions, 
and that facts and principles are statements or formula- 
tions of the relations that exist between different ideas 
or meanings or concepts. It should also be said that 
these five words may be conveniently designated by the 
generic term "knowledge." In general, they represent 



28 EDUCATIONAL VALUES 

the conduct-controls that owe their importance to the 
fideHty with which they mirror to consciousness the 
conditions of the environment, and the relation of these 
conditions to the life of the organism as determined by 
its experience. It is in this respect that they are to be 
differentiated from the controls to be discussed in the 
following chapter. They may be looked upon as 
*^ guides" to conduct; and they are to be differentiated 
sharply from ''ideals" and "standards," which are 
"ends" of conduct. In other words, the controls that 
are here designated by the generic term "knowledge" 
are predominantly intellectual in their nature, while the 
controls that are discussed under the head of ideals and 
standards are predominantly emotional in their nature. 
3. For the sake of initial clearness, the following 
definitions, couched in the terminology of contemporary 
psychology, are suggested. 

A perception is a group of elemental, irreducible, conscious 
processes called sensations. Thus when one "perceives" an 
orange, the "consciousness" of the object is made up of visual 
sensations (the sensation of yellow, for example, against a 
background of some other color or shade which enables con- 
sciousness to distinguish the form or outline) plus certain sen- 
sations originating in the eye muscles which enable the outHne 
and contour to be imaged upon the retinae of the eyes. Touch- 
ing or grasping the orange may add to these elements the 
sensations of pressure and temperature, and the movement- 
sensations (kinaesthetic sensations) involved in touching and 
grasping. Sensations of taste and smell may also cooperate 
in the perception of the object. These various sensory de- 



THE ACQUIRED CONTROLS OF C( .sDUCT 29 

tails combine to inform consciousness of the object ; and, in- 
asmuch as these are the data of which consciousness is chiefly 
aware, they may be termed the focal constituents of the per- 
ception ; that is, they occupy the center or focus of the con- 
scious field. But, in addition to these sensations which occupy 
the focus of the conscious field, and which are aroused by 
the immediate stimulation of various sense organs (the retinae 
of the eyes, the sensory nerve-endings in the muscles and ten- 
dons, the pressure and temperature sense-organs of the skin, 
etc.), there is something in the awareness of the orange that 
comes out of past experience. An infant, who had never 
had experience with oranges, might have the same sensations 
from the object, but his perception would be quite different 
from that of the adult. 

In other words, practically every perception of adult life is 
a complex of (i) sensations immediately evoked by external 
stimuH, and (2) sensations that are revived from past experi- 
ences. These two types of sensations fuse together to form 
what is technically called an "assimilation." A "pure" 
perception, — a perception that does not involve elements of 
past perceptions, — is obviously an extremely rare occurrence 
in mental life after the earliest years of infancy. 

Now the term "idea" is used in a generic sense to indicate 
the contributions that past experience makes to one's present 
consciousness. In an assimilation, for example, the idea- 
tional elements (coming from past experience) are to be dis- 
tinguished from the perceptual elements (coming from imme- 
diate sensory stimulation). One may easily verify this 
from one's own experience: in correcting proof, for ex- 
ample, the unpracticed proof reader is actually "aware" of 
letters and perhaps even of words that a later, more careful 
scrutiny fails to find upon the printed sheet ; that is, past 
experience has supplied the words or letters that ought to be 
there, and the reader actually sees them, so far as his own 



30 EDUCATIONAL VALUES 

awareness is concerned; the same phenomenon is clearly 
apparent in other sensory "illusions." 

But while the word "idea" is used in this generic sense to 
indicate all possible appearances of past experience in present 
consciousness, it is used more specifically to designate a 
revived or recalled perception. One speaks of one's idea of an 
orange when the object is represented to consciousness but not 
presented to the peripheral organs of sensation. It is in this 
connection, especially, that the word will be employed in the 
following discussions. 

The most important contribution that past experience makes 
to present perception, however, is what is termed meaning. 
It was said above that one's awareness of an object is chiefly 
centered upon certain focal ingredients of the perception which 
can readily be identified with elementary sensations. But an 
untutored mind (like that of the young child or the savage) 
might have the same sensory ingredients, — the same focal 
ingredients, — as the mind of a civilized adult ; and yet 
the quality of the perception in the two cases would be 
quite different. It is this difference that constitutes for con- 
sciousness a difference of meaning, and this difference is a re- 
sultant of past experience. When the perception is revived 
as an idea, it is clear that this difference still persists ; indeed, 
in the idea, meaning is the most important factor. 
A Now, what is it over and above the focal sensations 
that constitutes this awareness of meaning ? This is one of 
the perplexing problems of present-day psychology. Some 
authorities^ simply designate it as a "feeling of meaning" 

1 For example, E, L. Thomdike : Elements of Psychology^ New York, 
1905, p. 65: "Sensations, percepts, images, and emotions are direct 
feelings of things, qualities, and conditions. The feeling appears to be 
the thing. But we can feel or refer to a thing without directly feeling 
ity Also p. 6: "These feelings of meaning are very important in all 
higher sorts of thinking." 



THE ACQUIRED CONTROLS OF CONDUCT 3 1 

and attempt no further analysis. This simpHl&es the problem, 
but it does not inform us regarding the genesis and develop- 
ment of these important attributes ; such information might 
conceivably be furnished if these "feehngs of meaning" were 
analyzed into their elements. The same criticism could be 
made of the theories of meaning that definitely assume this 
factor to be an unanalyzable element of consciousness, coordi- 
nate in every respect with the elements that are termed sensa- 
tions.^ The present disposition of certain German psychol- 
ogists to identify the awarenesses of meaning as one of the 
various tj^es of ''attitudinal consciousness" or "conscious 
attitudes" ^ aids somewhat, for the term "attitude" suggests 
a mode of genesis which may aid educational psychology in 
tracing the development of meanings, — one of its most im- 
portant tasks. 

So far as educational psychology is concerned, however, the 
most promising theory of meaning is that which explains it 
in terms of sensation. This explanation is t3^ically repre- 
sented by Titchener's statement: "An idea means another 
idea, is psychologically another idea, if it is that idea's context. 

1 Cf. R. S. Woodworth : "Imageless Thought," Journal of Philosophy, 
Psychology, and Scientific Methods, vol. iii, igo6, pp. 701 flf., especially 
pp. 705 f. : "I would suggest that, in addition to sensorial elements, 
thought contains elements which are wholly irreducible to sensory terms. 
Each such element is sui generis, being nothing else than the particular 
feeling of the thought in question. Each is a quality, as red and sweet 
are qualities ; not syntheses of sensory qualities, but simply and purely 
the qualities of particular thoughts. . . . There is a specific and un- 
analyzable conscious quale for every individual and general notion, for 
every judgment and supposition. These qualities recur in the same 
sense as red and green recur." 

2 The Bewtisstseinslagen of the German investigators of the thought- 
psychology ; the term was first used by A. Mayer and J. Orth : " Zur 
qualitativen Untersuchung der Association," Zeilschrift fur Psycholo- 
gie, vol. xxvi, 1901, p. 6. 



32 EDUCATIONAL VALUES 

And I understand by context simply the mental process or 
complex of mental processes which accrues to the original idea 
through the situation in which the organism finds itself, — 
primitively the natural situation; later, either the natural 
or the mental." ^ This statement impHes that there is 
nothing in the awareness of meaning that cannot be attributed 
to the sensations that are either aroused by immediate stimuli 
or revived from past experiences. If this is extended to in- 
clude the marginal "halo" of kinaesthetic (muscular and 
strain) sensations, which may be supposed to surround a per- 
ception, and to represent the various types of adjustment or re- 
action which the object perceived normally initiates, there is 
suggested a working hypothesis for the development of mean- 
ings in education ; for the problem is now definitely to insure 
the development of meanings through adjustment to typical 
situations, — a procedure which finds much to commend it in 
the results of actual school practice.^ 

1 E. B. Titcliener : Experimental Psychology of the Thought Processes ^ 
New York, 1909, p. 175. 

2 This explanation of meaning was advanced in the writer's "Apper- 
ception of the Spoken Sentence," American Journal of Psychology, vol. 
xii, pp. 80 ff., and elaborated with reference to its educational applica- 
tions in The Educative Process, chs. iv-vi. Cf. especially, p. 145 : " . . . 
the marginal 'halo' or fringe of relations, which 'carries the meaning,' 
and in which the kinaesthetic sensations, representing as they do the 
constant factors in experience, occupy a prominent place." That these 
marginal constituents may fulfill this function is recognized by C. O. 
Taylor ("Ueber das Verstehen von Worten und Satzen," Zeitschrift fiir 
Psychologic, vol. xl, 1905, p. 248 n.), although he maintains that his ob- 
servers did not discover these contents ; this is not at all surprising, for, 
by hypothesis, they are marginal and consequently obscure. Titchener 
{op. cit., p. 176) admits the importance of the kinaesthetic factor in primi- 
tive experience, but doubts its primacy in the more advanced types of 
thinking: "Meaning is, originally, kinaesthesis ; the organism faces the 
situation by some bodily attitude, and the characteristic sensations which 
the attitude involves give meaning to the process that stands at the con- 



THE ACQUIRED CONTROLS OF CONDUCT 33 

Whatever theory may be called upon to explain these aware- 
nesses of meaning, it is obvious that meanings are products of 
experience. If the perceptions that mirror to mind the con- 
ditions of the environment are "meaningful," it is because re- 
peated adjustments to these conditions have endowed with 
significance the bare sensations which report to consciousness 
the happenings of the objective world. As a tentative work- 
ing hypothesis, we may look upon perceptions and ideas as 
images (the focal constituents, made up primarily of sense- 
materials) plus a '^halo'' of kincesthetic and other organic sen- 
sations which constitute, so far as consciousness is concerned, 
the meanings which these focal constituents hold for the or- 
ganism. Thus the orange that we perceive is made known to 
us by means of certain sensations ; these sensations occupy 
the focus of consciousness ; but surrounding them, enveloping 
them, is a mass of marginal sensations, which have been derived 
from past experience, and which cause the focal sensations 
to form a unified perception. All of the possible uses 
to which an orange may be put, — all of the relations that 
it may possess, — are, in so far as such uses and relations have 
come within the range of one's experience, represented in this 
conscious margin. Its meaning as food, as a commodity of 
commerce, as a means of table decoration, — each is there 
implicitly, potentially; and there is needed only the selective 
activity of a purpose, or a situation, to make this implicit 
meaning explicit. Thus in the breakfast situation, the " f ood " 
meaning may be made explicit, and the focal ingredients of the 
perception may "set off" the food-adjustment; at the fruit 
store, the meaning of the orange as a commodity of com- 
merce may become explicit ; and so on. 

scious focus, are psychologically the meaning of that process. After- 
wards, when differentiation has taken place, context may be mainly a 
matter of sensations of the special senses, or of images, or of kingesthetic 
or other organic sensations as the situation demands." 



34 



EDUCATIONAL VALUES 



Meaning may be defined, then, as the marginal "halo" of 
possible "cues" to conduct surrounding every well-developed 
perception or idea and endowing it with its essential and 
unique quality as an idea ; and since meaning is, upon our as- 
sumption, made up of revived sensations (mainly kiucesthetic) 
and is consequently "ideational" in its character, and since it 
is obviously the most important factor in ideas, we may speak 
of "idea" and "meaning" as, for all practical purposes, syn- 
onymous terms. When, in education, we aim to develop ideas, 
we are aiming primarily to develop meanings ; and when we 
aim to develop meanings, we are attempting to associate with 
the sensations and sensation-compounds aroused by external 
stimuH the appropriate adjustment to these stimuli ; we are 
attempting to associate with the objects and forces of the ex- 
ternal world the appropriate adjustment of the human organ- 
ism to these objects and forces. Once these associations are 
thoroughly fixed (and it is clear that they may be most effec- 
tively fixed by actual reaction or adjustment to them), the 
revived perceptions (or ideas) will carry with them these va- 
rious possibilities of adjustment, and consequently the ideas < 
may later be used in "thought" problems as condensed rep- 
resentatives of the former experiences, — the meaning that is 
made explicit in any case depending upon the nature of the 
problem. Beyond this, the original sense-materials consti- 
tuting the focal constituents of the perception may, when the 
ideas are used in thought-problems, be replaced by a symbol 
such as a word, a sign, a diagram, and the like. But the ef- 
fective use of symbols demands that the "halo of meaning," 
which would ordinarily attach to the image or the perception, 
now attach to the symbol. So long as this meaning is there, 
the essential conditions have been fulfilled. In actual adjust- 
ment to real objective situations, we need focal sensations 
mirroring with precision the relations of the forces and objects 
that constitute the situations; in thought-situations, the 



THE ACQUIRED CONTROLS OF CONDUCT 35 

barest trace of focal sense-material may be sufficient to "carry 
the meaning " effectively. In other words, when we '' think " 
about our problems, the meaning of the symbols that we em- 
ploy is primarily important ; when we are using perceptual 
data as a guide to immediate adjustment, it is the perceptual 
data that are important, — we are really gathering new mean- 
ing around the perceptual data, through the adjustment that 
we are making.^ 

A concept, for our purposes, is simply a meaning.^ It may 
be either general or particular in its reference, — it is, in 
any case, ultimately a "cue" to adjustment, or better a 
bundle of possible "cues" to adjustment, the particular cue 
to be acted upon being determined by the situation or the 
problem. Thus my concept "water" is simply the center 
of a vast number of possibilities of conduct, — drinking, 
bathing, swimming, drowning, pouring, rowing, sailing, look- 
ing at, admiring, etc. 

A fact is the statement of a relation between a particular 
concept and a general concept; for example, "This rock is 
granite " ; or between two or more particular concepts. The 
chair is behind the table." A principle is the statement of a re- 
lation between general concepts : " Granite is an igneous rock." 

1 Whether meanings can be manipulated in thought entirely apart 
from focal constituents (whether there is such a thing as "imageless" 
thinking) is not a question that is of vital importance in the present 
connection. The important thing is the meaning, and if this is present, 
the type of focal material seems inconsequential. In any event, 
" imageless thinking," if it is a possibility, is probably possible only as 
an outcome of deahng explicitly with sensory materials which originally 
were " focal " in consciousness (cf. W. F. Book : " On the Genesis and 
Development of Conscious Attitudes," Psychological Review, vol. xvii, 
1910, pp. 381 ff.) 

2 Cf. J. Dewey: How We Thinks Boston, 1910, p. 125: "Any 
meaning sufficiently individualized to be directly grasped and readily, 
used, and thus fixed by a word, is a conception or notion." 



36 EDUCATIONAL VALXJES 

The above terms have been defined somewhat arbitrarily 
and perhaps without due reference to the possible omis- 
sions and overlappings ; but to account for all of the possibili- 
ties would be to write not one chapter, but a book. The aim 
here is to make as clear as is possible in a brief space the mean- 
ings that are attached to these various terms. In the present 
connection, it is not so much the structural characteristics of 
these different conduct-controls that concern us, as it is their 
functional significance, to which we must now turn. 

4. In what ways will ideas, meanings, concepts, facts, 
and principles affect conduct? Their general function 
may be summed up in the statement that these controls 
bring consciously to bear upon the problems of adjust- 
ment the related factors of past experience, thus making 
possible a response that is consciously adapted to the 
situation in question. For convenience in discussion, 
ideational materials may be classed under four heads, 
each of which has important relations to conduct: 
(a) relatively complete sensory reconstructions of past 
experiences; (b) partial reconstructions of past experi- 
ences which fuse with present impressions to form what 
we have termed ^'assimilations"; (c) mental construc- 
tions which unite elements of different past experiences 
in new combinations; (d) symbolic representations of 
experiences or combinations of experiences that cannot 
or need not be accurately constructed or reconstructed 
in primary sensory terms. 

(a) The relatively complete sensory reconstructions of past 
experience most frequently function as guides to adjustment 
when immediate sensory data are lacking. Thus when one 



THE ACQUIRED CONTROLS OF CONDUCT 37 

attempts to walk through the woods on a dark night, the 
appearance of the woods by dayHght may be recalled as 
vividly and distinctly as possible, and thus serve the purpose 
that the actual perception would serve under other conditions. 
Or, if one is uncertain of the pronunciation of a word, the 
word may be imaged as one has heard it pronounced, and the 
articulatory adjustments may thus be guided in the light of 
this conscious reconstruction of the sounds. One planning a 
journey may image the map of the region through which the 
journey is to be made, and determine the route accordingly. 

The degree in which these relatively accurate reconstruc- 
tions of experience are used in guiding conduct varies with the 
needs of the organism for making adjustments of this type, 
and is dependent also upon the abiUty of the organism to 
recall experience in these ''free images." This ability seems 
to be a relatively late development in the natural history of 
mind; only the higher animals are capable of forming such 
images and acting upon them.^ In the human species, the 
frequency of such functioning depends also upon the individ- 
ual's capacity for visual imagery, since, in immediate percep- 
tion, the visual sensations normally form the most accurate 
guides to adjustment. 

(b) The immediate "assimilation" of perceptual elements 
to ideational elements has a manifestly important relation to 
conduct. When one reacts intelHgently to a situation, one 
reacts with reference to the meaning with which experience 
has endowed the situation. The immediate "recognition" 
of the objects of the environment as such means simply that 
these objects have been referred instantaneously to their ap- 
propriate place in the scheme of individual Hfe. We "read" 
meaning into the tables, chairs, books, and other objects that 
surroimd us ; experience is reacting upon present consciousness 

1 Cf. M. F. Washbum : The Animal Mind, New York, 1908, p. 275. 



38 EDUCATIONAL VALUES 

through the ideational elements that are fused with immedi- 
ately-aroused sensations. 

(c) Mental constructions which imite in a new way different 
elements of past experience are popularly known as products 
of the imagination. As controls of conduct, these construc- 
tions are significant in two ways : (i) They permit " remote 
adaptation," ^ or adjustments to situations which are not 
actualized in the present environment. By taking elements 
from past experiences, one may construct an idea of what the 
coming winter is likely to be, and prepare for it accordingly. 
The inventor may put together a machine in his imagination 
before he actually constructs it from real materials. The ar- 
tist may envisage his picture before he places a single pigment 
upon the canvas. The composer may construct his sympho- 
nies before he writes the score or works out the various phases 
upon the piano. This constructive imagination is a factor 
of the very largest importance in the control of human 
conduct. In it, the elements of past experience are com- 
bined in the light of some dominant end or purpose or 
ideal ; the ideas and images that one orders and arranges 
are then guides to the realization of one's purpose. (2) The 
*' passive imagination," which lacks the influence of a 
dominant end or purpose, is not without its function in the 
control of conduct. The tendency to phantasy or "day- 
dreaming," which is responsible for many ideal constructions 
that cannot be actuaHzed, may, by chance, suggest an impor- 
tant modification of conduct. Nature's prodigality is no- 
where more evident than in the realm of phantasy, and not a 
few of the important advances made by the race have prob- 
ably had their inception in passive imagination, — in idle 
" day-dreaming." Again, imagination, whether of the con- 

^ Cf. I. M. Bentley: "The Memory Image," American Journal of 
Psychology, vol. xi, 1899, pp. i ff. 



THE ACQUIRED CONTROLS OF CONDUCT 39 

structive or of the merely passive sort, may serve a useful 
recreative purpose, particularly in initiating attenuated ad- 
justments, — reduced and schematized units of conduct, 
which gratify vicariously some instinctive desire or impulse 
which could not, under existing conditions, be actuahzed in ob- 
jective conduct, but which, if denied all gratification whatso- 
ever, might give rise to serious results. It is in stimulating 
imagination to these ends that fiction and the drama have 
a large sphere of usefulness. Love and war, — the two domi- 
nant themes of imaginative Hterature, — have their roots in 
fundamental instincts, the gratification of which is often in- 
consistent with social requirements and restrictions.^ 

{d) Symbohc representations of experience are typically 
illustrated by the words which language employs to represent 
ideas and meanings. As already suggested, no new element 
is introduced here. Instead of employing the original sen- 
sory data of experience, a symbol is used to represent in the 
focus of consciousness the meanings which are the important 
factors in constructive thinking. This has the manifest ad- 
vantage of being related to other symbols through conven- 
tional forms; language facihtates thinking by making it 
possible to reconstruct the essence, the meaning, of experience 
without necessitating the recall of all of the original sensory 
details. Thus the individual is enabled to manipulate his 
own experiences much more economically and effectively than 
would otherwise be the case. If, for example, I have under- 
gone a very disagreeable experience by taking a journey upon 

1 Cf . Freud's interesting theory of the function of dreams in providing 
a vicarious gratification for instinctive desires that cannot be actualized. 
S.Freud: "The Origin and Development of Psychoanalysis," Lec/wre^ 
and Addresses before the Departments of Psychology and Pedagogy, Clark 
University, Sept., 1909, p. 22 : "The manifest dream, which we remember 
after waking, may then be described as a disguised fulfillment of repressed 
wishes." 



40 EDUCATIONAL VALUES 

a certain railroad, it is not essential for me to reconstruct the 
entire experience in order to guide my conduct on my next 
trip. All that I need to do is to attach the word "disagree- 
able" to the name of the railroad in question. This word 
carries with it the "cues" to conduct that are essential, and 
that represent everything in the entire earlier experience 
that has an important bearing upon the present situation. 

Constructive thinking differs in no essential feature from 
what has just been described as constructive imagination. 
Indeed, the two forms may often work together in the solu- 
tion of problems. The chief difference lies in the fact that 
imagination deals with concrete images, while thought deals 
with symbols ; but it is manifest that, in both cases, it is the 
meanings that are important ; in the one case these meanings 
attach to images that represent more or less faithfully the 
sensory details of earUer experiences; in the other case the 
meanings attach to symbols that have no necessary sensory 
resemblance to the experiences that they represent. 

As has been pointed out, thinking in symbols involves the 
formulation of relations between concepts or meanings, — the 
process that has been referred to as conceptual judgment, 
the products of which are crystallized in facts and principles. 

5. The chief distinction between the controls that we 
are now discussing and the specific habits discussed in 
the preceding chapter lies in the fact that habits are 
specific responses to specific stimuli, while ideas, concepts, 
and meanings are centers of possibility of adjustment. 
For this reason, habit-building in education emphasizes 
invariability of response, while idea-formation empha- 
sizes adaptability of response. The same fact may be 
expressed by saying that habit-building lays its emphasis 



THE ACQUIRED CONTROLS OF CONDUCT 4I 

upon the adjustment, aiming not only to associate the 
response unerringly with its stimulus, but also and 
more fundamentally to associate the component parts 
of the total response with one another in an unchanging 
series. Idea-formation, on the other hand, lays its em- 
phasis upon the stimulus as the center of a number of 
possible responses, any one of which is to be recalled 
and applied as the needs of a given situation may dictate. 

It is for this reason that the formation of ideas and concepts 
deals so largely with "qualities" of objects and forces. The 
idea "river," for example, if it is to be an effective guide to 
conduct in any situation in which rivers may play a part, must 
suggest various qualities, such as wetness, motion, capacity 
to float buoyant objects, difficulty of crossing, and the like. 
Now these qualities have meaning ultimately in terms of 
adjustment, but the celerity and adequacy of the adjustment, 
important though these factors may be, are, as it were, taken 
for granted in idea-formation. If rivers were always to be 
adjusted to in the same way, the "meaning" of river would be 
simple enough, and idea-formation and habit-building would 
coincide ; river would have meaning in terms of a single ad- 
justment. 

For the routine worker, the meanings of the objects with 
which he deals doubtless approach this simple type. For the 
ditch-digger the clod of earth may mean but one type of ad- 
justment. The idea, in other words, is narrowly circum- 
scribed; it is a "cue" to but one type of conduct. To the 
farmer the same clod of earth may have more numerous sig- 
nificances. To the agricultural chemist a shovelful of earth 
may be a whole universe of meanings. To the ditch-digger 
the relation of stimulus to adjustment is simple, direct, and 
immediate. To the farmer the relations are more involved, 



42 EDUCATIONAL VALUES 

and the interval between the reception of the stimulus and 
the reaction may, on occasion, be longer, owing to the fact 
that the meaning which bears upon the present situation must 
be selected from the totahty of possible meanings. To the 
chemist, the clod of earth is a mass of quaUties, each of which, 
it is true, may be — must be — a cue to conduct, but no one 
of which need be immediately associated with a conduct 
outcome. 

In developing the concept of "commerce" in elementary 
geography, the problem is to associate the word with its mean- 
ing. To this end reference is made, by excursions or by picto- 
rial or verbal illustrations, to the activities which are em- 
bodied under that term. The pupil gradually grasps the idea 
that commerce means the buying and selHng and transporting 
of articles and commodities which people need. An adequate 
concept of this word involves the possibility of working its 
implications back into actual experience. The activities 
will mean Httle to the pupil so long as they are concerned 
with articles that he does not himself know through actual 
adjustment. But when reference is made to these articles, — 
sugar, flour, coal, clothing, and the like, — an initial extension 
of these meanings to other activities is possible. In other 
words, the "quaHties" and "attributes" that are analyzed 
out in idea-formation are themselves simpler meanings, 
simpler "cues," through a synthesis of which the new idea 
may be developed. 

One further example may serve to clinch this point. The 
high school instructor who wishes to develop the physical 
concept "work" must first develop the concept "force." He 
can readily relate this to the pupils' experience by associat- 
ing it with the words "push" and "pull." But these words, 
in turn, must be ultimately translated into terms of actual 
motor adjustment, else the definitions that are constructed 
are purely verbal. 



THE ACQUIRED CONTROLS OF CONDUCT 43 

One may say, then, that concept-building or idea- 
formation differs from habit-building in laying its em- 
phasis upon the qualities or attributes of objects and 
forces of the environment rather than upon the special- 
ized responses which represent certain adjustments to 
these objects and forces. To ''know" an object or a 
force, then, is not simply to have an automatic response 
ready for adjustment to it, but to know its qualities and 
attributes so that the various responses which these 
qualities and attributes suggest may be available for 
adjustment if need be. General education can make au- 
tomatic but comparatively few responses, for the needs 
of individuals vary widely, and it is impossible to know 
just what types of habitual adjustment may be required 
in each pupil's later life. But general education may 
supply the pupil with ideas, concepts, and meanings, 
and with facts and principles, and this "knowledge " may 
enable him to initiate adjustments and form effective, 
specific habits in the field of activity in which his prin- 
cipal work will lie. ''Complete" knowledge is, in any 
case, impossible, for complete knowledge would imply a 
knowledge of all possible attributes and qualities of all 
possible objects and forces, together with a recognition 
of the relation of these attributes and quahties to adjust- 
ment. Knowledge, then, is always relative; and an 
important task of general education is to determine what 
knowledge is important to all individuals. 

5. The above analysis also suggests a danger that 
must be guarded against in using the term "conduct- 



44 EDUCATIONAL VALUES 

control.'^ Conduct is normally a sociated with action, 
and action with muscular activity. But digging ditches 
and plowing fields, running races and fighting battles, 
do not represent the only kinds of conduct or adjustment 
that it is possible to make ; and unless one extends the 
meaning of the term ^'conduct" far beyond its signifi- 
cance in ordinary speech, one is certain to fall into the 
danger that has been noted. An adjustment may mean 
physical inactivity or quiescence just as truly as it may 
mean activity or movement. It may mean contemipla- 
tion, reflection, aesthetic enjoyment. An adjustment is 
an adaptation of the organism to a situation. It is, in 
terms of consciousness, the solution of a problem that 
confronts the organism. In still broader terms, it is the 
process of satisfying some felt need. One may feel a 
need that demands in its satisfaction absolute bodily 
inertia, or "pure" contemplation. The adaptation of 
the organism to satisfy the one need or the other is an 
adjustment, — is a unit of conduct. When the adjust- 
ment itself does not involve conscious control, it operates 
on the basis of either instinct or habit, according as the 
mechanism of the adjustment, — the coordination of 
functions essential to bring it about, — has been either 
inherited or acquired. Even the need itself may not 
come into the field of consciousness. When, however, 
the need is distinctly felt and the adjustment is not 
automatic or mechanical, a problem or a situation 
arises. It is then that the factors essential to satisfying 
the need and solving the problem must be directed 



THE ACQUIRED CONTROLS OF CONDUCT 45 

consciously and in the light of ideas or revived experi- 
ences. It is then that the images, with their various 
potentialities of adjustment, come into play. They are 
''tried out," as it were, with reference to the end sought, 
— with reference to the solution of the problem. Per- 
haps they pass through a long series of associations 
before the right cue makes its appearance. Perhaps 
they are highly elaborated and organized. But finally 
they must resolve themselves into one form of conduct 
or another. In one way or another the chain must be 
completed ; in one way or another the problem is solved, 
or it is abandoned, — and abandonment is solution for 
the time being. 

Suppose that I am awakened at night by a measured, rhyth- 
mic sound that I cannot satisfactorily identify. A situation 
arises. My sleep has been disturbed and a consciousness of 
possible danger constitutes a "need" for the immediate 
solution of the problem. I may tentatively interpret the 
sound as representing burglars in the house. The meaning 
"burglars" which I read into this stimulus is, then, the first 
reaction of experience upon my consciousness of the situation. 
The idea "burglars" holds within itself several cues to ad- 
justment. I may be " satisfied" that it is a burglar. In that 
case my first problem, — to identify the sound, — has been 
solved, and another problem has arisen. Assuming, however, 
that the identification is not satisfactory, I must cast about 
for another "cue," — for another meaning under which to 
subsume this situation. I revive successive images of the 
surroundings of my house, — each image with its attendant 
meanings and possibiUties. ' One by one they pass "before the 
mind"; but no "cue" that suggests a "satisfactory" solu- 



46 EDUCATIONAL VALUES 

tion makes its appearance, until through the associative pro- 
cesses, the image of my neighbor's barn, which is not far dis- 
tant, is evoked. This image also has its quota of meanings, — 
its quota of possible cues for adjustment. The idea barn is 
associated with the idea horse, and this, in its turn, suggests 
the idea, "stamping horse." With reference to my problem, 
the situation is solved. A satisf3dng adjustment is at once 
initiated by the idea. 

What I have done in a case of this sort has been to solve 
a situation by means of ideas. Had not my former experi- 
ences furnished me with such ideas, the situation could have 
been solved only by a process of trial and error. At it was, 
the solution was delayed only long enough for me to follow 
through a series of associated meanings until the one ap- 
peared that satisfied the conditions of the problem. My ad- 
justment in this instance has involved but a minimum of 
muscular activity. 

6. In the process of conscious adjustment to different 
situations, one is constantly making such ^^ discoveries'^ 
as that just noted, — one is con tantly identifying new 
situations with old meanings or discovering some ''re- 
lation " between new situations and old meanings, whether 
that relation be one of identity, of similarity, of difference, 
of cause and effect, or of any other of the various types 
of relationship which the logicians recognize. But what- 
ever the relation, its value (if value it possesses) must 
always be in terms of adjustment. When I identify 
the disturbing sound with the stamping of the horse, 
I am simply transferring to the sound the significance 
or meaning which the stamping horse may possess 
with reference to the problem that confronts me. 



THE ACQUIRED CONTROLS OF CONDUCT 47 

When, as the result of reacting to a situation, I dis- 
cover that water soKdifies at a temperature below 32° F., 
my concept of water has been thereby enriched ; its 
quota of potential cues has been increased; my con- 
trol over future possible situations, — my potential 
abihty to solve such situations satisfactorily, — has been 
widened and strengthened. In other words, as I identify, 
subsume, and relate meanings and situations through con- 
tinued experience or adjustment, I reduce my experience 
to the form of facts and principles, which, in turn, may 
make my future conduct more effective. 

Facts and principles, therefore, may be listed with 
ideas and meanings as conduct-controls that come out of 
experience. They constitute one of the most important 
forms in which the experience of the race is crystallized, 
and, in virtue of the possibility of recording these result- 
ants of experience in written and printed language, and in 
formulae, diagrams, pictures, and models, facts and prin- 
ciples form numerically the largest class of educative 
materials. 

7. As guides to conduct, facts and principles do not 
differ essentially from ideas and concepts. The fact, as 
the result of a particular judgment (" This substance is 
chloride of calcium " ; " Darwin was born in 1 809 ' ') , simply 
makes explicit an element of meaning that may later be 
impHcit in the particular concept or idea. Thus what- 
ever ^'cues" attach to the meaning of chloride of lime 
come to attach to the particular substance which I iden- 
tify as chloride of lime. Once the predicate is intimately 



48 EDUCATIONAL VALUES 

associated with the subject, the explicit relations ex- 
pressed in the predicate come thereafter to be implied 
in the subject. Once I have learned that Darwin was 
born in 1809, whatever general meaning attaches to 
birth in 1809 attaches to my particular concept, Darwin. 
The principle as the result of a general judgment (for 
example, *'A11 men are mortal ") similarly makes ex- 
plicit a quality that will afterward be implicit in the gen- 
eral concept. 

8. The methodology of the development of the con- 
duct-controls belonging to this group, — ideas, meanings, 
concepts, facts, and principles, — is less well understood 
than the methodology of habit-building. The chief prob- 
lems are to insure wealth and accuracy of meanings, to 
insure the association of these meanings with situations 
which are likely to arise in connection with the problems 
of everyday life, and through organization to insure the 
recall of meanings when they are needed in meeting these 
and other problems. 

When we think of meanings as cues to conduct, the functional 
significance of "qualities" and ''properties" is much clearer 
than when qualities and properties are considered simply as 
logical attributes of concepts. If the idea of "commerce" is 
to function effectively as a conduct-control, the characteristics 
that are associated with the term must be associated also with 
adjustment. It is coming to be recognized as fundamentally 
important, therefore, that the terms which are used to charac- 
terize different phases of meaning be related to actual ad- 
justment. The emphasis that has been laid upon objective 
teaching during the past quarter-century is an expression of 



THE ACQUIRED CONTROLS OF CONDUCT 49 

this recognition. Within the last decade objective teaching 
which does not provide actual situations demanding real 
adjustment has come to be looked upon as not thoroughly 
effective. The old maxim, " Proceed from the concrete to the 
abstract," still holds, but the term "concrete" has assumed 
a new significance. Because something is objective or mate- 
rial does not necessarily mean that it is "concrete" to the 
mind. Concreteness — reality — lies in the situation demand- 
ing adjustment, — stimulating one to a reaction. That effective 
concepts must have this sort of a basis is one of the important 
principles of latter-day educational theory.^ 

To fulfill this condition does much to insure the accuracy 
of concepts and ideas. If I define salt as chloride of sodium, 
and have no "meaning" for either "chloride" or "sodium," 
my meaning of salt has not been in any sense enriched. 
Either to extend a concept or to intensify it, necessitates an 
association of the concept with meanings, not with mere sym- 
bols. And somewhere, ultimately, the chain of associated 
meanings must touch the bed-rock of actual motor adjust- 
ment. 

Present-day educational practice is beginning to shape 
itself conformably mth this principle. In so doing, however, 
it is tending to neglect one of the chief virtues of its proto- 
t3fpe, the old-time pedagogy, which insisted so strenuously 
upon logical organization and coherent system. The neces- 
sity for the latter requirement is not lessened in the sHghtest 
degree by the emphasis that is now being placed upon con- 

1 The " continuation schools " that have been adapted from the 
German plan and applied to American conditions in Cincinnati and 
Fitchburg furnish almost ideal conditions for an effective pedagogy. 
The actual adjustments come in the work that pupils do in stores, 
shops, and factories. The school work takes this intimate acquaintance 
with real situations as a basis and on this builds the theoretical in- 
struction. 



50 EDUCATIONAL VALUES 

Crete reference in teaching. Indeed, it is all the more essen- 
tial, for under the older system a proportion of the pupils in 
our schools made the concrete references for themselves ; they 
found that it facilitated the learning process in a way that 
they were not slow to utilize. The insistence upon coherent, 
logical organization was, therefore, all that they needed to 
make the development of ideas and principles thoroughly 
effective, and the school took good care that this condition, 
at least, was adequately met. To-day the effort of the schools 
is directed largely toward insuring concrete bases for concepts, 
while the important task of logical organization is frequently 
neglected. It is clear that this task is frequently beyond the 
powers, even of those pupils* who were able, under the old 
regime, to "concrete" the concepts for themselves.^ 

9. The ''law of concept-building '' has been formulated 
in recognition of the necessity for this concrete basis. It 
is expressed in the familiar pedagogical dictum, ''Proceed 
from the concrete to the abstract, and from the particular 
to the general." Spencer ^ very clearly formulated the 
law as a specific expression of the principle that the de- 
velopment of generalizations in the mind of the child 
should proceed in the same general fashion as the develop- 
ment of the same generalizations in the experience of the 
race. The followers of Herbart ^ have worked out an elabo- 
rate system of instruction following this inductive order. 
As a result, the institutions for the training of teachers 

^ Cf . J. Adams : Exposition and Illustration in Teaching, London, 
1909, especially pp. 197-198. 

2 H. Spencer : Education, New York, 1895, ch. ii. 

^ For example, W. Rein : Outlines of Pedagogics (Eng. trans.), Syra- 
cuse, 1895; C. De Garmo : Essentials of Method, Boston, 1889; C. A. 
and F. M. McMurry : Method of the Recitation, New York, 1903. 



THE ACQUIRED CONTROLS OF CONDUCT 5 1 

have come to lay strong emphasis upon the well-known 
"formal steps" of development. In fact, even to-day, 
there is but one ''approved" method of impressing 
general concepts and general principles, and that one way 
is to lead up gradually to the general form through the par- 
ticulars upon which it is based, and to which it must be 
referred if its meaning is to be clearly apprehended. 

This emphasis of the inductive procedure has been of 
great importance in the development of educational 
method; but it has also led to the condition that 
was noted above, — in the . eagerness to lay concrete 
bases, logical oganization has been frequently neglected. 
This neglect of the ''logical" for what has been called 
the "psychological " order of development has also tended 
to blind teachers to the very important type of instruc- 
tion that begins with a clear enunciation of the principle 
and then proceeds to illustrate it by concrete cases. It 
has also, in some instances, insisted upon a tedious de- 
velopment of a concept or a principle the meaning of 
which would be clearly apparent to all pupils without 
taking these steps. A fourth criticism to which the 
overemphasis of inductive development may be sub- 
jected owes its cogency to the readiness with which in- 
duction as a process of instruction has been confused with 
induction as a process of establishing truth. 

The value of proceeding from the concrete to the abstract 
in teaching is obviously quite independent of the value of a 
rigorous process of induction in firmly establishing a principle. 
It should not be assumed that merely leading the pupil to 



52 EDUCATIONAL VALUES 

attend to a few clear cases and to formulate whatever resem- 
blances or differences he may discover among them justifies 
him in assuming that he has established the formula. In other 
words, the inductive procedure in this case is simply a peda- 
gogical expedient, and it has its sole justification in the fact 
that it will, under certain conditions, serve to fix the principle 
more effectively than another procedure would do. 

10. In the "Educative Process"^ the writer distin- 
guished between "development " and "instruction," — in- 
cluding under the former term the processes of teaching 
which lead the pupil himself to induce principles from 
particulars or to infer particulars from principles; and 
including under the latter term the processes of teaching 
which simply place ready-made judgments before the 
pupil in such a way that he may adequately appre- 
hend the inductions or inferences drawn by the teacher. 
It is clear that the methodology of concepts, facts, 
and principles may employ either of these two methods : 
it may be either developmental or instructional ; and, in 
either case, the procedure may be inductive or deductive. 

The formal school exercises which have for their function 
equipping the pupils with concepts, facts, and principles may, 
accordingly, be classified under four types : — 

(a) The inductive development lesson, which aims through a 
heuristic method to develop concepts and meanings upon the 
basis of particular experiences, or to develop principles upon 
the basis of preformed particular judgments. 

{h) The deductive development lesson, which similarly em- 
ploys a heuristic method in leading the pupil to infer from the 

1 Ch. xvii. 



THE ACQUIRED CONTROLS OF CONDUCT 53 

operation of a known principle certain conditions which he 
may later prove to be facts, or to explain a known fact by- 
bringing it under the operation of a known principle.^ 

(c) The inductive expository lesson, which is similar to the 
inductive development lesson, except that it employs the 
instructional rather than the developmental procedure. 

{d) The deductive expository lesson, which differs in like 
manner from its heuristic prototype.^ 

1 1 . Ideas, meanings, concepts, facts, and principles have 
been referred to in the preceding paragraphs as "guides" 
to conduct. Subsequent discussions will revert to this 
designation, for it is this essential feature which distin- 
guishes the controls of this type from those later to be dis- 
cussed. Essentially, these controls are instruments, not 
ends; and as instruments, their efficiency depends upon 
the clearness, the accuracy, and the certainty with which 
they reflect experience. As instruments, also, they are 
impersonal, and may be used to direct conduct to un- 
worthy ends as readily as to worthy ends. The impor- 
tance of insuring that the ends of conduct shall be worthy 
justifies the emphasis that the next chapter will lay upon 
the distinction between ideas and ideals. 

* This type of lesson is described and illustrated in The Educative 
Process, ch, xx. 

2 For an excellent discussion of expository teaching, see J. Adams, 
op. cit. 



CHAPTER IV 

The Acquired Controls of Conduct. (C) Ideals 
AND Emotionalized Standards 

I. Thus far, the discussion has recognized two im- 
portant types of acquired conduct-controls; habits on 
the one hand, and concepts, facts, and principles on the 
other hand. If these exhausted the list, the task of the 
following pages would be greatly simplified. The ma- 
terials of education could readily be reduced to two great 
classes, and the value of the results of education could be 
determined readily by reference to the social criterion. 
Unfortunately for our comfort, however, human conduct 
persistently refuses to be included entirely under these 
two categories, and an educational psychology that stops 
here is ineffective in practice because it leaves untouched 
a large mass of educative materials which practice simply 
cannot neglect. 

As a matter of fact, conduct is fundamentally deter- 
mined, not by the environment of the objective world, 
which sensation mirrors to us and to which perceptions 
and ideas refer, but rather by the needs of the organism. 
As was pointed out above, it is only with reference to 
organic needs that situations arise and form the objective 
centers of adjustment, of experience. It is these needs 

54 



THE ACQUIRED CONTROLS OF CONDUCT 55 

and their satisfaction that lie at the basis of mental life, 
and it is to these needs that we must now turn to com- 
plete the list of conduct-controls with which education 
has primarily to deal. 

2. At the beginning, a return must be made to instinct, 
which was dismissed so summarily a fevv^ pages bacji. 
From the point of view of consciousness, the essence of an 
experience (a ''complete" adjustment) lies in the con- 
sciousness of the problem to be solved. This conscious- 
ness is more or less affective in its structure, — that is, it 
is represented by some emotional content. 

This factor may be illustrated by reference to any great 
achievement. Peary's conquest of the Pole, for example, 
represents a large unit of human experience, which, because of 
its very "bulk," so to say, and because of the unity of pur- 
pose which bound together all of its elements, serves admi- 
rably the purposes of psychological study. Obviously, the 
prime controlling force in Peary's achievement was the pur- 
pose that dominated it. It is not sufficient to describe this 
purpose simply by saying that it was the idea of reaching the 
Pole. Thousands of men might have that idea. In Peary, 
however, the idea of reaching the Pole was infused with a pow- 
erful emotional force which made the idea directive over 
his conduct during the long series of efforts and trials and 
interpolated experiences. The idea of reaching the Pole 
came to be for Peary an ideal. 

Now to realize this ideal became Peary's problem. The 
solution of this problem involved a series of adjustments to 
a series of objective situations. In each adjustment, other 
ideas, and undoubtedly other ideals, operated to control seg- 
ments of conduct. In planning for his trip, he had to avail 



56 EDUCATIONAL VALUES 

himself of his own former experiences and of the experiences of 
others (both types largely crystaUized in ideas, facts, and 
principles). From experience had been derived the fact that 
Arctic travel requires certain carefully selected supplies of 
food and clothing. Experience had supplied the data essen- 
tial to determine the most favorable season for travel, the 
best means of travel, the number of men essential to an effi- 
cient exploring force, and the Hke. As each problem pre- 
sented itself, Peary's former experience, and the knowledge 
that he had gained from a study of the carefully preserved 
records of former explorers, supphed the solution. But the 
entire trip, from the moment of its first inception to its cul- 
minating victory, was dominated and controlled by a funda- 
mental ideal. 

3. From what did this ideal derive the force that made 
it directive over so long a period in this man's life ? It 
is here that we must turn back to instinct for an ultimate 
explanation. It may be that there is no distinctively 
native impulse which we may identify with "achieve- 
ment," but there is something closely akin to it to be 
noticed even in very young children. The impulse to 
accomplish something, to do something that others have 
not done, to secure the commendation and praise of our 
fellows, — if this impulse is not inborn, then something is 
inborn that is readily transformed into it. At the core 
of every effective ideal one will find, if one analyzes far 
enough, some element of instinct, — something that must 
be included among the ''given" factors in the problem of 
existence. 

4. But the instinctive factor is, in highly developed 
ideals, only the ''core." Experiential factors come 



THE ACQUIRED CONTROLS OF CONDUCT 57 

to play a most important part in the composition of ideals. 
The idea of the Pole, — the meaning that the word had 
for Peary even at the outset of his career, — formed an 
indispensable part of the ideal that was so effective as a 
control in his later life. The concept ''Pole" has certain 
conventional implications. From the point of view of 
formal definition (which is only making the "meanings" 
of terms more explicit by bringing them, through other 
terms, closer to experience) the North Pole is one end of 
the earth's axis. But it also implies to most of us rela- 
tive inaccessibility, danger, cold, unspeakable discomfort. 
These are vital, human meanings as contrasted with 
the formal definition-meanings of the logicians. It was 
these human meanings, one may readily believe, that were 
important in Peary's conception of the Pole. However 
that may be, the ideal that dominated his conduct had its 
intellectual constituents derived from experience as well 
as its core of raw impulse or native emotion. 

5. The ideal of reaching the Pole, then, was only the 
large dominant purpose that actuated Peary in his efforts. 
Other ideas operated, as has already been pointed out, and 
other ideals came in to check and control conduct even 
within the sphere governed chiefly by his dominant pur- 
pose. The ideals of science led him to pause frequently 
on his course to take deep-sea soundings and to make 
dredgings of the sea bottom in order to determine for 
science the contour of the sea bed and the kind of life 
that it harbored. The magnetic and meteorological 
conditions were observed with a care and precision far 



58 EDUCATIONAL VALUES 

beyond the needs of his principal purpose. His ideals of 
loyalty to the service that employed him, of regard for his 
family and for the families and friends of his companions, 
— all these were factors that over and over again con- 
ditioned his adjustment. And each of these ideals, too, 
had its instinctive basis and its elements of intellectual 
meaning. 

6. The illustration has been followed far enough, 
perhaps, to indicate what is meant by an ideal as a con- 
trol of conduct, and by what essential features it is dis- 
tinguished from what has been termed an idea. In dis- 
entangling the essential factors from the complicated 
web of human action, one is almost certain to derive 
elements that seem purely formal and lifeless. This life- 
lessness and formalism become all the more apparent 
when an attempt is made to distinguish these dissected 
factors or elements by formal definition. Nevertheless, 
a verbal definition has a function, even if it ''hides as 
much truth as it reveals." To sum up the differences 
between ideas and ideals in definite terms, one may say 
that an idea is an image plus a meaning, and that an ideal 
is an image plus a meaning plus a strong emotional or 
affective coloring. One should hasten to add that the 
''image" referred to here need not be a concrete image : 
it may well be a symbol, such as a word, or it may be any 
other form of sense-material to which the meaning is 
attached. And when one speaks of the emotional or 
affective coloring, one simply means that, upon psy- 
chological analysis, the conscious "stuff" that makes 



THE ACQUIRED CONTROLS OF CONDUCT 59 

Up the ideal is more vitally infused with a pleasant or 
unpleasant feeling- tone than is the conscious ''stuff" 
that makes up the idea. 

One or two examples will make clear that there is a distinc- 
tion with a very important difference between these two 
terms. A certain idea of national unity was prevalent in this 
country prior to the Civil War. The events of the war trans- 
formed that idea into an ideal. Whatever has been in- 
timately associated with pain and sacrifice and anguish can 
never again be quite the same. Just as instinct is basic to 
reason and sometimes overrides it, so the affective elements in 
an ideal overshadow the intellectual factors. Objectively 
and intellectually, national unity means the same to-day that 
it did in i860, but its directive force over conduct is far more 
powerful, and its emotional content is far richer. 

The idea of temperance may be clear enough to the man who 
scoffs at temperance. He may know what temperance means. 
The word may be surrounded by that halo of kinaesthesis 
which enables him to use the concept effectively as an inter- 
polated control of conduct, — as a means to an end. In an 
abstract and purely intellectual way, he may even recognize 
its worth. But this is a vastly different thing horn feeling its 
worth and making it an ideal that is directive as an end over 
his own conduct, acting through a long series of adjustments, 
and, therefore, becoming a prime control. 

7. In general, ideals are the prime, the basic, the funda- 
mental controls of conduct. Ideas are the subordinate, 
the interpolated controls. Ideals determine purpose; 
ideas guide to the realization oj purpose. 

Ideals dominate large experiences or large adjust- 
ments. Ideas control the smaller segments of experience, 



60 EDUCATIONAL VALUES 

the adjustments that are incidental as means to the 
desired or idealized end. The efficiency of ideas is » 
largely dependent upon the fidelity with which they 
represent to consciousness the world in which it works. 
The efficiency of ideals is largely dependent upon the 
emotional force that lies back of them — upon the 
directness of their reference to felt needs. Ideas as prod- 
ucts of race-experience are organized into facts and prin- 
ciples, and crystallized in the records of investigation. 
Ideals as products of race experience are expressed in 
poetry, in imaginative literature, in the fine arts, in music, 
in the forms of reHgion, government, and other social 
institutions.^ 

To see to it that the ideals which accumulated human 
experience has shown to be worthy and to make for 
social welfare are safely and effectively transmitted from 
generation to generation is obviously a prime task of 
education. The decline of the ancient civilizations is 
generally recognized as having been due to the fact that 
the races which had so laboriously built up these civiH- 
zations failed to transmit from generation to generation 
the ideals that were essential to their perpetuation. 
Chief among these are the ideals of self-denial and self- 
sacrifice, — those essential standards of human conduct 
that have made all advancement possible. It is because 
material prosperity eliminates the economic conditions 

^ Cf. W. W. Charters : Methods of Teaching, Chicago, 1909, pp. 45-48. 
Charters here shows the importance of determining in teaching any sub- 
ject, whether it is to function as "end" or as "instrument." 



THE ACQUIRED CONTROLS OF CONDUCT 6 1 

which give vitality and emotive force to these ideals, 

— it is for this reason that material prosperity, unless 
checked and controlled by educative forces, tends to 
national and ethnic decay. Both Greece and Rome 
lacked an organized educational institution that would 
automatically instill these ideals into each generation. 
It remains to be seen whether modern education will be 
adequate to the task. Certain it is that the present 
tendencies in our schools toward ease and comfort and 
the lines of least resistance confirm rather than counter- 
act the operation of that Zeitgeist which reflects so per- 
fectly the moral decadence that comes with prosperity 

— the letting loose the grip that our forefathers, who 
lived under sterner and harsher conditions, had upon the 
ideals of self-denial and self-sacrifice. 

8. It is clear that ideals, as well as determining pur- 
pose, also serve as standards or criteria for conduct in the 
realization of purpose. All of the recognized '^virtues" 
represent particularly this type of ideal. Honesty, 
personal honor, chastity, patriotism, altruism, self-denial, 
cleanliness, — all these are ideas which must be strongly 
and effectively emotionalized in order to serve as conduct- 
controls. They have, it is true, an intellectual or idea- 
tional content, but this may be relatively simple. In any 
case, it is the emotional factor that is important. 

It should be understood that the non-intellectual character 
of many effective ideals is not an essential condition of their 
efficiency. There is no reason why ideals that have a 
thoroughly justifiable rational basis should not be so strongly 



62 EDUCATIONAL VALUES 

emotionalized as to become ends in themselves. It is well to 
understand, however, that the eflBciency of an ideal is not 
necessarily dependent upon what is popularly known as an 
appeal to reason. To '' understand " why it is well to hold fast 
to certain moral standards is not, from the social point of view, 
nearly so important as to hold fast to these standards ; and, 
unless rationahzing moral standards helps to increase the hold 
which they have upon social conduct, the justification of an 
educative policy that insists upon such rationalization is not 
at all clear. Certainly it should be determined in how far 
such attempts may serve to increase or decrease the efficiency 
of the ideals. It will probably be generally agreed that there 
are some ideals that have cost the race far too much in the 
slow process of their development to permit incurring any 
risk of losing them through a premature rational appeal. 

9. In each of the two preceding chapters a section 
was devoted to the discussion of the *' methodology" 
of fixing the conduct-controls under consideration. 
The term ^'methodology" sounds pedantic at best, and 
in connection with the transmission of ideals it is almost 
ominous. And yet, unless education can come to a 
rational understanding of this process, it will be unable 
to control with certainty the most important group of 
factors that determine conduct. At the present time, 
educators are working very largely in the dark in the 
solution of this problem. The school exercises that have 
to do with the teaching of history, literature, and art 
in all of its forms have been scarcely differentiated from 
those that have to do with the fixing of habits and the 
development or exposition of facts and principles. Of 



THE ACQUIRED CONTROLS OF CONDUCT 63 

late, it is true, what is known as the ^'appreciation 
lesson " ^ has been recognized, but it is yet to be analyzed 
and described. Here is a field for a type of pioneer work 
that is sorely needed. 

1 1 believe that Professor G. D. Strayer deserves the credit for having 
first recognized that the school exercise in which "appreciation" is the 
chief concern should be differentiated by a distinctive name from 
instruction and training. See Columbia University Extension Syllabi, 
Series A, No. 23, 1908 p. 6. 



CHAPTER V 

The Acquired Controls of Conduct. {D) Preju- 
dices AND Tastes ; {E) Attitudes and Perspec- 
tives; Summary 

1. The conduct-controls discussed in the last chapter 
— ideals and standards — tend, through repeated func- 
tioning, to become prejudices. That is, they may be in 
their operation (and often in their genesis) quite inde- 
pendent of reasoned processes. More than this, their 
operation is closely similar to that of habit, although 
the conscious accompaniments are clear and unequiv- 
ocal. When prejudices govern conduct, the reaction is 
commonly represented in consciousness by a strong wave 
of feeling or emotion, as when one experiences a ^' revul- 
sion" of feeling at a proposal that is inconsistent with the 
ideals of honesty or personal honor. They form, as it 
were, immediate and self-sufficient conduct-controls. 

2. Closely related to prejudices as controls of conduct 
are what we ordinarily term tastes, although the latter 
are commonly somewhat milder in their effect upon con- 
sciousness. Like prejudices, they are characterized by 
the propensity that was noted in connection with habits ; 
that is, conditions which fail to satisfy standards that 
have been repeatedly applied to the evaluation of certain 

64 



THE ACQUIRED CONTROLS OF CONDUCT 65 

activities arouse a feeling of irritation and unpleasant- 
ness, which may indeed be only vaguely localized at the 
time being. 

The person whose musical tastes have been highly ''culti- 
vated," for example, will react almost instinctively against 
musical efforts that fall below his standard. This is not a case 
of the direct application of the standard to the effort in ques- 
tion ; it is rather an immediate and unreasoned reaction. It is 
undoubtedly due, as has been suggested above, to a frequent 
conscious application of the standard ; just as prejudices grow 
gradually out of the repeated conscious operation of ideals. 

3. This conception of prejudices and tastes as controls 
of conduct suggests still another type, even more intan- 
gible and difficult to analyze. Just as on the emotional 
side prejudices and tastes grow out of the frequent 
application of ideals and standards, so attitudes are, 
on the intellectual side, schematic and reduced resultants 
of the operation of ideas, facts, and principles. The 
two types of control are similar in that they operate upon 
consciousness in a peculiar way. They determine the 
manner in which a situation is interpreted, and this 
determines, of course, the reaction that is made to the 
situation. The two types differ in that the attitude is 
more closely related to the intellectual and ideational 
processes, while the prejudice, as has just been noted, 
expresses itself through an emotional reaction. 

4. Educational theory has until recently been 
hampered by the failure of psychology to recognize 
types of conduct-controls other than habits and judg- 



66 EDUCATIONAL VALUES 

ments. But psychology now recognizes that attitudes, 
prejudices, tastes, perspectives, and various other 
factors, while they are extremely difficult to analyze 
out of the complex states of consciousness, are none 
the less fundamentally important in determining the 
way in which consciousness influences adjustment. 
Educational theory must determine how these important 
controls are developed, — for there can be no doubt that 
they are profoundly influenced by experiential factors, 
although their bases may be instinctive. 

The psychology of these intangible controls is still in a very 
unsatisfactory condition, — but it is something to know that 
they have been isolated, recognized, and named. The 
Germans have employed the untranslatable word, Bewusst- 
seinslage, to designate them, and recognize certain types, 
such as Bewusstseinslagen of determination (problem), doubt, 
certainty, familiarity, meaning, etc.^ 

Judd also explicitly recognizes "attitudes" as distinc- 
tive and significant features of consciousness. "Each indi- 
vidual has his attitudes toward his acquaintances, toward his 
ordinary forms of experience, and these attitudes have a stabil- 
ity and sanction which no single impression and no single 
disastrous result of applying the attitude can overcome. This 
is nowhere better illustrated than in referring to those attitudes 

1 See A. Mayer and J. Orth: "Zur qualitativen Untersuchung der 
Association," Zeitschrift fur Psychologie, vol. xxiv, igoi, p. 6.; K. 
Marbe : Experimentell-psychologische Untersuchung tiber das Urteil, 
Leipzig, 1901 ; also a critique by E, von Aster: "Die psychologische 
Beobachtung und experimentelle Untersuchung von Denkvorgangen," 
Zeitschrift fur Psychologie, vol. xlix, 1909, pp. 56-107; also an admi- 
rable summary of the German work in E. B. Titchener : Experime?ital 
Psychology of the Thought Processes, New York, 1909, ch. iii. 



THE ACQUIRED CONTROLS OF CONDUCT 67 

which we describe in ordinary life as one's tastes. . . . That 
tastes are built up on the foundation of individual experiences 
no one will deny ; that they are forms of memory is an assertion 
which no one would make unless he were prepared to extend the 
word 'memory^ to include all organizations within personal 
consciousness. '' ^ 

It is just this conception of a mental attitude which is 
not to be identified with memory, and which consequently 
does not influence adjustment directly through a judg- 
ment process or through the conscious application of 
previously acquired ideas and concepts, — it is precisely 
this conception that educational theory needs in order 
to make thoroughly rational the justification of what we 
have termed ''general culture." So long as control over 
conduct was thought to be limited on the one hand to 
specific habits and on the other hand to ideas, facts, and 
principles, expKcitly revived and applied, it was impossible 
rationally to justify a large part of the educational 
curriculum, although a great many people "felt certain" 
that important values were realized by the materials in 
question. ''Feeling certain" that something is true and 
being able to demonstrate its truth are two quite different 
matters, as any tyro in geometry can testify ; and when 
one's conviction is loudly and persistently challenged, the 
mere "feeling" is likely to satisfy only the person imme- 
diately concerned. 

An attitude is well illustrated by the resultant of historical 
study. As will be shown in the sequel,^ one does not, from the 

^C. H. Judd: Psychology, New York, i^oy, pp. 240 i. (Italics mine.) 
2 See below, pp. 14.0 ff., p. 237. 



68 EDUCATIONAL VALUES 

study of history, ordinarily gain generalizations and principles 
which are rationally applied to the solution of existing prob- 
lems. One gains rather a perspective upon present problems, 
or an attitude toward present problems, because one inter- 
prets them in the light of their genesis, — one sees them 
through a vista of the events which led up to them and of 
which they (the existing situations) are the culmination. If 
one is skeptical of the great difference in conduct that is 
caused by looking at situations through such a medium, one 
may quickly be convinced of this difference by subjecting some 
problem to an historical investigation. Let a teacher take, 
for example, some controverted question in the teaching of his 
own subject. And then let him go back over the history of 
teaching the subject and learn how this problem arose. He 
will find that his attitude toward the problem has been meas- 
urably modified. The reaction to the situation is vastly 
different from what it would have been had he not made this 
historical excursus. 

The concept of attitude is also illustrated by the difference 
between the effect which unusual natural phenomena have upon 
the ignorant and the effect which they have upon those who 
are '^ educated." Knowledge has "liberated" mankind from 
the thralldom of mystery and fraud, but this enhghtenment 
finds its commonest expression in an " attitude " rather than in 
a series of reasoned judgments. Those phenomena which once 
aroused fear and dread, and stimulated mankind to mystify- 
ing interpretations and the consequent inadequate adjust- 
ments, no longer exert their irritating influence. They have 
been reduced to law and order — they have been given their 
proper place in the scheme of things. So far as the individual 
is concerned, the "understanding" of such phenomena results 
in an attitude that might be termed a "negative" adjustment : 
situations that would otherwise impel one to an unnecessary 
or inadequate response are unheeded, and mental energy is 



THE ACQUIRED CONTROLS OF CONDUCT 69 

consequently "freed" or "liberated" and is available for 
other purposes. 

5. Prejudices, tastes, and attitudes are, like ideas, 
closely related to habit. This relation is twofold: in 
the first place, they may initiate specific habits, as when 
one's prejudice in favor of personal honor governs one's 
conduct in a new situation, and repetitions of the same 
experience gradually reduce the specific adjustment to an 
habitual response; in the second place, prejudices and atti- 
tudes may, under certain conditions to be described later, 
grow out of specific habits, — as when the habits of 
Sunday observance, established in early childhood, 
become more or less explicitly formulated as ideals and 
gradually come to express themselves in a deeply seated 
prejudice or *' propensity," which makes the lack of such 
observance a matter of discomfort in later life, even 
though one's ideas of the sanctions for such observance 
may have undergone a radical change. The present in- 
terpretation of the doctrine of formal discipline is based 
upon the belief that specific habits may be generahzed 
into ideals and prejudices which, in turn, make possible 
the acquisition of similar habits in new fields, — as when, 
from the specific habits of accuracy and close reasoning 
developed in the school exercises in mathematics, one 
comes gradually to idealize accuracy and close thinking 
as methods of procedure that will bring desirable results 
in other fields. 

6. The paramount importance of recognizing atti- 
tudes and prejudices as resultants of the educative 



70 EDUCATIONAL VALUES 

process is confirmed from two points of view. In the 
first place, as has been pointed out, it is in these out- 
comes that the value of a ^'general" education must be 
very largely expressed ; in the second place the key to 
moral training is to be sought primarily in the develop- 
ment of these controls. As James has suggested in his 
chapter on Habit, they are the great flywheels of society, 
holding the conduct of men true to the type that social 
experience has found to be most effective in maintaining 
social stability. 

Nor is it only in the consciously-undertaken processes of 
formal education that attitudes and prejudices are significant. 
Recent investigations in the field of mental pathology indicate 
very clearly, not only the fundamental import of these factors 
as controls of conduct, but also their intimate connection with 
forms of stimulation and influence that are not consciously 
directed toward educative ends. This is clearly brought out 
in the following quotation from an authority in this field.^ 

"It is not the good and pious precepts, nor is it any other 
inculcation of pedagogic truths, that have a molding influ- 
ence upon the character of the developing child ; but what most 
influences him is the peculiarly affective state which is totally 
unknown to his parents and educators. The concealed discord 
between the parents, the secret worry, the repressed hidden 
wishes, — all these produce in the individual a certain affec- 
tive state with its objective signs which slowly but surely, 
though unconsciously, ^ works its way into the child's mind, 

^ C. G. Jung: "The Association Method," Lectures and Addresses 
Delivered before the Department of Psychology, Clark University, Sept., 
1909, pp. 66 f. 

2 The assumption that these influences are " unconscious" seems 
scarcely warranted. The parent or the teacher may be unconscious of 



THE ACQUIRED CONTROLS OF CONDUCT 7 1 

producing therein the same conditions, and hence the same 
reactions to external stimuH. [That is, the same conduct.] 
. . . The father and mother impress deeply into the child's 
mind the seal of their personahty; the more sensitive and 
moldable the child, the deeper is the impression. Thus even 
things that are never spoken about are reflected in the 
child." 

How the teacher may go about to develop the proper 
attitudes, prejudices, and tastes, — the ''methodology" 
of this group of conduct-controls, — is a problem that 
can here be treated only in the briefest manner, for 
the very good reason that the laws underlying the genesis 
of these controls have yet to be formulated. In general, 
it is probable that the personality of the teacher and the 
*' atmosphere" of the school are fundamental factors 
here. In other words, the teacher's own attitudes and 
prejudices must be right (for attitudes and prejudices 
are the sum and substance of that hitherto unanalyzed 
quality that has been termed personality) and the life 
of the school must be impregnated with the positive 
tendencies which we wish to have transferred to the minds 
of the pupils. As will be pointed out in a later chapter,^ 
the concrete realities surrounding the child are the most 
effective sources of his ideals, and it is through the 
repeated application of ideals that prejudices are de- 
veloped. 

their influence, and the child himself may be unconscious of what it is 
that influences him, but the resultant mood or disposition is certainly 
a product of conscious processes. 
1 Cf. ch. XV. 



72 EDUCATIONAL VALUES 

There is nothing so contagious, perhaps, as the attitudes, 
tastes, and prejudices of any one who stands in an authorita- 
tive relation to others, but unfortunately the contagion is 
sometimes negative rather than positive; that is, the atti- 
tudes of those in authority are reacted against, and ideals of 
the opposite type are engendered. The problem here is to 
see to it that the teachers themselves have an adequate under- 
standing of the various forces that may operate to negate the 
results of their positive efforts. Much of the work of the 
school fails to "hit the mark," not because the teacher does not 
work sincerely and conscientiously, but because he is unaware 
of the factors in his own life that are continually undoing the 
work that he has so carefully planned and executed. The un- 
spoken and apparently unexpressed feelings and emotions 
that hover in the background of his consciousness are continu- 
ally revealing themselves in his bearing, his tone of voice, his 
facial expression, his gestures ; and the emotional tone, of which 
these expressions are the unmistakable symbols, is inevitably 
taken up by those about him. The writer is convinced that 
many of the deleterious effects following from such conditions 
could be avoided if all teachers understood clearly the ease 
with which emotional states are communicated, and the conse- 
quent responsibility which rests upon them to govern the con- 
ditions of their own lives so that this silent but insistent influ- 
ence shall be wholesome rather than baneful in its effects. 
And it goes without saying that the community which 
supports the school should see to it that the teacher is able 
to live under economic conditions that will preclude at least 
one very disastrous source of worry and irritation. 

7. From the point of view of the formal instruction, 
the methodology of fixing the appropriate attitudes and 
prejudices, once the teacher's personality and the atmos- 



THE ACQUIRED CONTROLS OF CONDUCT 73 

phere of the school are favorable, differs in no radical 
way from the methodology of ideas and ideals. The 
intellectual attitudes and perspectives result, it may 
be assumed, from the operation of facts and principles ; 
the emotional attitudes (prejudices and tastes) result 
from the operation of ideals. There are, however, some 
important implications for the organization of educative 
materials in this connection, even if the specific methods 
of teaching are not materially affected. Of these the 
most important has to do with the arrangement of facts 
and principles in such a way that they will inevitably 
result in appropriate attitudes and perspectives. If the 
study of history, for example, is to give one an effective 
perspective upon present situations, the treatment must 
emphasize causal relations ; it must take the pupil back 
into the past and give him a view of the present through 
the medium of the events which have made the present 
what it is. Again, if the study of natural science is to 
give one an adequate attitude toward the phenomena of 
nature, it must explain these phenomena in the light of 
their causes. The coherent, logical organization, which 
is just now in danger of neglect, is of fundamental 
importance in this connection. 

8. Summary. The controls of conduct which edu- 
cation may develop may be restated and defined in the 
following terms : — 

{a) Habits : definite responses to definite stimuli, 
initiated consciously, and, through practice and repeti- 
tion, freed from the necessity of conscious control. 



74 EDUCATIONAL VALUES 

(b) Ideas, concepts, and meanings: definite mental 
structures, representing consciously the objects and forces 
of the environment, and the significances which these 
objects and forces have for the life of the organism. 
These controls function chiefly as interpolated or sub- 
sidiary guides to adjustment. 

(d) Ideals, emotionalized standards: mental structures, 
less tangible and definite than ideas, and more highly 
colored by emotion, and, by that token, more closely 
related to instinct and primitive impulse. These con- 
trols function in determining the purpose, end, or motive 
of conduct, as contrasted with ideas, facts, and principles, 
which are conscious guides to the realization of pur- 
pose. 

(e) Prejudices, tastes: emotional tendencies and dis- 
positions, resembling habits in many ways, but on 
th^ whole more general in their reference and having a 
more noticeable effect upon consciousness ; these con- 
trols function in determining the manner in which 
situations are interpreted. 

(/) Attitudes, perspectives: mental tendencies and dis- 
positions, differing from ideas in being less explicitly 
conscious in their operation, and from both prejudices 
and ideals in lacking the strong emotional element. 
Attitudes determine the manner in which situations are 
interpreted. In one sense, they are closely related to 
habits, the term ''attitude" being somewhat synony- 
mous with the term ''mental habit'' as used by the older 
descriptive psychologists to distinguish an habitual or 



THE ACQUIRED CONTROLS OF CONDUCT 75 

automatic mental tendency from a specific motor re- 
sponse or physical habit. 

9. To multiply terms needlessly has been one of the 
chief sins of educational theory. It is easy to ''darken 
counsel by words without meaning," and in a complex 
field like education there is much that is intangible and 
hard to define in any serviceable way. The writer has 
hesitated long before committing himself to the above 
analysis. It is not presented as a set of terms each of 
which connotes a distinct and unique set of activities, 
for the various factors that have been isolated and classi- 
fied fuse together in a multitude of ways to form ';he 
infinitely varied patterns in the web of human conduct. 
Isolation and attempted definition in this field must 
always do more or less violence to actual conditions. 
On the other hand, it is beheved that certain large and 
vital distinctions are represented by these five rubrics, 
— distinctions that are fundamentally important as 
"cues" to an effective use of educative materials. It 
is because, in the actual work of education, these dis- 
tinctions are constantly recurring, — it is because actual 
practice has over and over again dem^onstrated the 
futility of neglecting these more intangible factors in 
conduct, — it is for this reason that an attempt has been 
made to dissect them out and define them consistently 
in terms of psychology. A distinction can be justified 
only by its effect upon practice, and the justification of 
the distinctions that we have made must be left to the 
following chapters. When we state that a certain sub- 



76 EDUCATIONAL VALUES 

ject of school instruction should result in specific habits 
and that another should result in ideals, and still another 
in attitudes, the statement should carry with it a dis- 
tinctive *'cue" for educational adjustment. It should 
suggest a distinctive position for the subject in the gen- 
eral curriculum of education, and, more than this, it 
should suggest a distinctive method of treatment spe- 
cifically designed to develop the desired control. If our 
distinctions give us effective "cues" to the solution of 
the problems of organization and instruction, then the 
classification will be justified. If -they fail to help us 
in < this wa>, they will be futile, no matter how distinc- 
tive the differentiae. 

It is true that psychological investigation has not as 
yet furnished sufficient data to permit the establishment 
of principles that are unquestionably true. In some 
cases reliable data are at hand ; in other cases — far 
more numerous than one would wish — it will be neces- 
sary to base our conclusions upon what may be termed 
*' working hypotheses," built up from the best material 
that is available and "pieced out" by inference and anal- 
ogy. In other words, the time is far in the future when 
a final statement of educational functions can be made. 
If we could postpone the demands of practice indefinitely, 
we might insure with absolute certainty against mis- 
takes that hav^ their source in false assumptions or 
erroneous conclusions. But happily or unhappily, the 
demands of practice cannot await the refinements of 
theory. Educational progress to-day is largely deter- 



THE LIMITATIONS OF EDUCATIVE FORCES 79 

ing this capacity for ^'initiating" new modes of ad- 
justment? In other words, Can education contribute 
in any way to the production of '' genius"? 

2. There can be no doubt that education may influence 
the individual of exceptional capacity precisely as it 
influences the individual of ordinary capacity; namely, 
it may raise him to the culture-level that the race has 
reached, — it may transmit to him the culture-materials 
that the past experience of the race has furnished. In 
fact, the genius, because of his exceptional capacity, 
may frequently profit more effectively by an educative 
process than can a person of ordinary capacity. His 
advancements must be made upon the summit of the 
pyramid which represents the past acquisitions of the 
race; otherwise, though they may be ''new" to him, 
they will not constitute a contribution to social progress. 
This, however, does not mean that education is in any 
way responsible for the exceptional capacity of the indi- 
vidual who is thus subjected to its processes. It is 
responsible only for the level upon which that capacity 
operates. 

3. Again, education may, through the application of 
principles gleaned from race-experience, so modify the 
physical constitution of the individual that certain ca- 
pacities, otherwise precluded from operation, will be per- 
mitted to function effectively. Thus native capacity 
might be delayed in, or prevented from, its UTDrmal 
development by imfortunate physical conditions. The 
thyroid gland, for example, which, in some way, at 



80 EDUCATIONAL VALUES 

present a matter of mystery, is so essential to normal 
mental development, may be defective or entirely lack- 
ing. Educative forces (using the term in a broad sense 
to cover all consciously-undertaken environmental influ- 
ences) may supply the missing element in the form of 
thyroid-extract, and so insure normal development. 
Or, through insufficiency of food, or lack of appropriate 
external stimuli, the nascent capacities may fail of 
development. In cases of this sort, educative forces 
may correct the environment and so make possible a 
normal growth. But again it is quite clear that educa- 
tion does not create the capacity. It simply provides 
the appropriate stimuli and opportunities which develop 
capacity. 

4. The question might be raised, however, Are not 
these differences that we term differences of mental 
capacity, — differences in ability to detect new situations 
and make new adjustments, — due to differences in 
early training and environment rather than to differences 
in native or inherited endowment ? In the light of our 
present knowledge concerning this problem, this question 
must be answered in the negative. Capacity for initia- 
tion seems to be inherent in the nervous structure of 
some individuals, lacking in others. What its physical 
basis is, — with what differences of nerve-structure or 
nerve-quality it is correlated, — cannot be determined 
at the present time, but of the general fact of "congenital 
variation" in capacity there can be no reasonable doubt. 

The evidence for this conclusion can be only briefly 



THE LIMITATIONS OF EDUCATIVE FORCES 8l 

sketched in this connection. Fundamentally, the argu- 
ment against the assumption that such differences are 
to be attributed primarily to environmental or educa- 
tional forces owes its cogency to the fact that mental 
capacity follows the same laws with regard to its appearance 
and its transmissihility as do the physical characteristics 
that are admittedly not acquired. 

(a) The a priori argument to the contrary can be met 
on its own ground. Exceptional capacity, like varia- 
tions in physical structure, may ''crop out" from lines 
of descent that have, for generations, been perfectly 
normal or "ordinary." This stamps genius as a "varia- 
tion" representing some analogous physical variation 
in the structure or function of the nervous system. 

The sudden and unheralded appearance of genius from 
sources that seem most unpromising is, therefore, a fact in 
favor of the native character of genius rather than a fact 
that would argue against such an explanation. Lincoln, the 
product of a most unpromising heredity, is sometimes cited 
by the advocates of the influence of the development of ca- 
pacity through environmental forces. The conditions of Hfe 
under which Lincoln grew up can reasonably be assumed 
to have developed those qualities of head and heart that are 
recognized as constituting his greatness. The struggle with 
poverty, it may be urged, developed a keenness of judgment 
and a clearness of vision that a man brought up under easier 
and "softer" conditions might have lacked. The opportuni- 
ties of a free and democratic life in a new country brought 
forth the deep and penetrating sympathy that so thoroughly 
characterized his later adjustments. The answer to these 
arguments is obvious enough. Of the thousands of men 



82 EDUCATIONAL VALUES 

who were products of the same environment, Lincoln was 
the only man to achieve this degree of eminence. 

The case of John Stuart Mill has also been frequently cited 
as showing, in quite the opposite way, the influence of environ- 
ment. The carefully planned educative process to which 
James Mill subjected his son may be reasonably urged as an 
adequate explanation of the son's remarkable capacity. But 
other fathers have certainly subjected their sons to excellent 
educative processes without obtaining proportionately re- 
markable results. 

In both cases, capacity can be much more satisfactorily 
accounted for by the principle of variation, — in Lincoln's 
case by original ''fortuitous" variation ; in Mill's case by in- 
herited organic variation. This theory is much the simpler, 
and consequently, by the principle of parsimony, is the one 
to be chosen. In both cases, however, the influence of the 
environment is not to be neglected. In both cases, doubtless, 
the forces of the environment, acting upon the inherited tend- 
encies, stimulated these tendencies to appropriate develop- 
ment and function. 

5. (b) In the second place, this fact — that differences 
in mental capacity follow the same laws with regard to 
their inheritance as do variations in physical character- 
istics — has been fairly well established through a series of 
investigations that merit much more extended treatment 
than can be accorded in this place. It will be well, how- 
ever, to notice a few of the more significant of them, and 
a few also of the investigations that tend to confirm the 
opposite contention. 

{a) Investigations into the Conditions of Eminence. {1) Gal- 
ton's Studies. The first investigations of note in this field 



THE LIMITATIONS OF EDUCATIVE FORCES 83 

were those of Sir Francis Galton, the results of which were 
published in 1869 in his ''Hereditary Genius." Galton in- 
vestigated the heredity of a number of men that the world 
agrees to designate as geniuses, and also that of a number of 
others, who, while not reaching the plane of genius, may still 
be characterized as illustrious or eminent. He maintains 
that eminence is due to three factors : zeal, ability, and a ca- 
pacity for hard work ; and that these factors are "native" — 
are not modified in any appreciable degree by environmental 
forces. To prove this thesis, he considers several types of emi- 
nence: EngUsh judges, English peers, military leaders, 
artists, scientists, musicians, poets, painters, and divines. 
These he groups into three classes : (i) those whose genealogy 
shows one eminent relative; (2) those having two or three 
eminent relatives ; and (3) those having four or more eminent 
relatives. From his results it appears that the most distin- 
guished among the persons he selects fall, generally, in the 
third class, and this third class is usually larger than either 
of the others. That is, the greater the man, the greater the 
number of eminent relatives. As illustrations, the following 
may be cited : Napoleon, Caesar, and Scipio among military 
leaders; Macaulay, Fielding, Schlegel, Sidney, and Hallam 
among writers ; Arago, Bacon, and Boyle among scientists; 
Mozart among musicians ; Titian, Ponte, and Veccelli among 
painters ; and Junius, Usher, and Herbert among divines. 

It is clearly apparent that, although the most eminent men 
selected are found to have distinguished relatives, the most 
eminent men in the various fields covered by the investigation 
were not always chosen by Galton for his study. Thus Shake- 
speare's name is not even mentioned, while Goethe, Byron, 
Racine, and Heine are credited with but two relatives of note, 
and Galton admits that these are so far removed as probably 
to preclude any inferences from the relationship. Among 
divines, Luther's name finds no place. 



- / 



84 EDUCATIONAL VALUES 

Galton's studies, then, are open to criticism in respect of the 
selections that he makes. The cases that would count against 
his argument seem to have been carefully excluded.^ For ex- 
ample, in a supplementary list of great statesmen, whose gen- 
ealogy he traces, the name of but one American family is to be 
found. It is not that of Washington, or Lincoln, or Clay; 
these men he passes over, while he selects the Adamses. A 
plainer case of selecting the exception in order to support a 
theory would be hard to find. Again he limits the main 
materials of his study to the eminent men of England, and 
consequently selects from a society in which class-distinctions 
are relatively rigid, and in which the candidates for positions 
that give eminence are very largely drawn from the small mi- 
nority of the upper classes. When he considers Uterary genius, 
which is obviously less trammeled by bonds of caste, he finds, 
out of thirty-seven eminent men selected, only eleven that 
fall in his third class, — that is, among those having four 
or more eminent relatives. 

Notwithstanding the weak points in Galton's evidence, his 
conclusion that exceptional ability cannot be created by the 
environment is fairly well established. He has failed to show, 
however, that the hereditary factors that he mentions, — 
ability, zeal, and the capacity for hard work, — cannot be in- 
creased or diminished by environmental or educative influ- 
ences. The conclusion that his investigations justify is that 
there is an extreme likelihood that these qualities are very 
largely factors of heredity .^ 

1 Gallon recognized the operation of this factor. Cf. Hereditary 
Genius, p. 322. 

2 The frequently cited instance of the Popes' adopted sons, adduced 
by Galton to prove the inadequacy of the environment in creating ability, 
has several weaknesses that have not always been noted. In the first 
place, such "sons" were frequently nephews, and consequently possessed 
some of the hereditary characteristics that the Popes themselves pos- 



THE LIMITATIONS OF EDUCATIVE FORCES 85 

(2) De Candolle's Investigations. Gallon's conclusion that 
the factors conditioning genius may in part be transmitted 
by the forces of physical heredity has not been seriously 
questioned ; but his contention that genius will always come 
into its own in spite of environmental conditions has met 
with active opposition. DeCandolle^ was the first in- 
vestigator seriously to question this contention. He made 
a statistical study of the men of genius represented by 
the membership of the three academies of science, Paris, 
Berlin, and London. He reached the conclusion that at least 
nineteen different factors condition the development of genius, ly^ 
and, of these, heredity is only one. In other words, innate 
capacity is not likely to come into its own unless some im- 
portant environmental conditions are fulfilled, and among 
these formal education has a place. 

(3) Odin^s Investigations. Much more thoroughgoing and 
trustworthy are the investigations of Odin ^ upon the condi- 
tions favoring the development of literary talent. He found 
that the 5620 notable French authors whom he studied were 
not distributed equitably among the French-speaking people, 
but that certain locaHties, especially the larger cities, produced , y 
a much larger proportion than certain other localities, particu- 

sessed. Galton's assertion, therefore, that the history of the Papacy 
records no instance of an adopted son's attaining eminence proves almost 
too much. Again, even neglecting this factor, the consciousness that one 
is only an adopted son and not the physical offspring of one's foster- 
parents may conceivably preclude the operation of certain incentives that 
might otherwise stimulate one to unusual achievement for the "pride 
of the race." Cf. Hereditary Genius, New York, 1871, p. 42. 

^ A. de Candolle : Histoire des sciences et des savants deptiis deux 
siecles, Geneva, 1873. (Second edition, Geneva, 1885.) Summarized 
from Ward. 

2 A. Odin : Genese des grands homines, Paris, 1895. See especially 
vol. i, pp. 543 Q.; also Ward's excellent summary in his Applied 
Sociology. 



86 EDUCATIONAL VALUES 

larly the country districts. Furthermore, this distribution was 
quite disproportionate to the differences in population. Thus 
Geneva (including its immediate environment) was the birth- 
place of the largest number of eminent writers in proportion 
to its population; Paris and its vicinity came next; then, 
with a very pronounced decrease in the proportion, came 
Marseilles; other cities of still less importance were Dijon, 
Avignon, Lyons, Orleans, and Metz. The conclusion is that 
Ithe advantages offered by urban life, and by a community of 
ideals and standards of evaluating effort, are extremely im- 
portant in the development of native talent. 

(4) CatteWs Investigations. This conclusion receives some 
measure of confirmation from the statistical studies more re- 
cently made by Cattell ^ regarding American men of science. 
Out of a total of 867 eminent men of science, the New England 
states have furnished a much larger number in proportion to 
the population than any other section of the country. 

The conclusions that have been drawn from these three 
last-named investigations are preponderantly in favor of the 
environment as the determining factor in the development of 
talent, although they do not prove that superior ability is not 
primarily due to variation and heredity. As Thorndike has 
pointed out, ^ the data adduced by Odin and Cattell do not 
justify a conclusion that heredity is not an important factor, 
for the environments that are found to be favorable for the 
development of talent are also the environments which attract 
the men of talent ; in other words, it is not sufficient to rest 
simply with the conclusion that the birth rate in certain lo- 
calities is likely to show a higher proportion of individuals 
who later become eminent ; it must also be recognized that 

1 J. McK. Cattell : "A Statistical Study of American Men of Science," 
Science, vol. xlvi, 1906, pp. 732 ff. 

2 Educatiotial Psychology, New York, 1910 (2d edition), pp. 122 f. 



THE LIMITATIONS OF EDUCATIVE FORCES 87 

these localities are likely to draw to them as residents men of 
exceptional ability. Thus, while the university city of Cam- 
bridge, Massachusetts, has much more than a normal propor- 
tion of eminent individuals among those who claim it as a 
birthplace, it is also true that a disproportionate number of 
eminent men are drawn to Cambridge, and there become par- 
ents of children who may be presumed to inherit some of their 
exceptional qualities. 

(b) Heredity in Royalty. Another type of investigation is 
represented by Frederick Adams Woods's "Mental and Moral 
Heredity in Royalty." ^ Woods escapes the fallacy of selec- 
tion which beset Gal ton, by choosing a group every individual 
of which could be investigated as to ancestry and achieve- 
ments, and also gauged with a fair degree of nicety in resp 
of his mental and moral qualities. Obviously there is but c 
group whose genealogical records are kept with sujGficient a 
to permit such treatment, and that group is royalty. x>y v 
amining the principal royal famihes of Europe, Woods reached 
the conclusion that both mental capacity and moral excellence 
"go with the blood," and are furthermore not essentially 
modified by the environment. He chose fifteen famihes, of 
which about 3500 representatives were studied. He graded 
the intellectual and moral traits of these representatives on a 
scale of ten, — "one" representing the lowest order of merit, 
and " ten " the highest. In grading these quaUties, he used as 
a standard the adjectives that biographers and historians 
employ in describing these royal personages. If the leading 
biographers characterized a king's mental attainments as emi- 
nent or illustrious, a grade of nine or ten was accorded him ; 
if he was characterized as an imbecile or a fool, he was given the 
grade one or two. Moral quahties were treated in the same 
general way. Drawing the information from a number of 

1 New York, 1906. 



88 EDUCATIONAL VALUES 

authorities lessened, of course, the chance of error, — that is, 
the errors in the judgment of the authorities tended to coun- 
terbalance one another. 

A better idea of the nature of Woods's evidence may be 
gained by reference to some of the better-known characters 
that fall in the various grades. Ranking in Grade III for 
intellectual capacity — that is, ranking low in intellect — are 
George II and William IV of England ; in Grade IV, George 
IV ; in Grade I, Louis XVI of France ; in Grade VI, Victoria 
of England ; in Grade VII, William I of Germany ; in Grade 
VIII, Alexander I of Russia ; in Grade IX, the chief male fig- 
ures are William III of England, Peter the Great of Russia, 
Charles XII of Sweden, and Henry the Navigator of Portugal ; 
' d, in a line closely related to royalty, Admiral Cohgny of 

mce. Among women of Grade IX is Maria Theresa. 

ade X, representing the highest rank in intellectual abiUty, 

luiaes the following : Louis II, the Great Conde ; William 
the Silent ; John the Great of Portugal ; Frederick the Great 
of Prussia ; Frederick William, the Great Elector ; Gustavus 
Adolphus and Gustavus Vasa of Sweden ; Margaret of Na- 
varre; Catherine of Russia; Anne, Mademoiselle Mont- 
pensier ; Anne, Duchess of Longueville ; Sophia Electress, 
daughter of Frederick V; Louisa Ulrica of Sweden; and 
Isabella of Castile. In the grading of moral quaUties, it is 
sufficient to say that Christian VII of Denmark, Catherine II 
of Russia, and George IV were near the foot of the Hst ; 
William the Silent, Prince Albert (consort of Victoria), Vic- 
toria, and Isabella of Portugal were at or near the head of 
the list. 

The significant feature of Woods's investigation Hes in the 
fact that the highest quaUties of intellect and morality are 
centered about a very few hereditary strains. Among the 
fifteen families that he studies, four furnish practically all of 
the most eminent individuals. These are the House of Or- 



THE LIMITATIONS OF EDUCATIVE FORCES 89 

ange, represented most illustriously by William the Silent; 
the Prussian royal family, represented by Frederick the Great ; 
the Castile Hne, represented by Isabella; and the Swedish 
house, represented by Gustavus Adolphus. Furthermore, he 
shows that those in the highest grades have more relatives in 
the better and more capable half of the list thati,in the worse 
and less competent half. Finally his results show that certain 
families are almost entirely confined to the Hmits of royal me- 
diocrity, never getting very far above Grade VI, and never 
very far below Grade V. Among these are the houses of 
Hanover, Saxe-Coburg, Gotha-Mecklenburg, Hapsburg, Or- 
leans, and Saxony, and the ruling families of Denmark and 
modern Portugal. 

Regarding certain influences of the environment that are 
generally supposed to be peculiarly "formative," Woods 
reaches this conclusion: "If conditions of turmoil, stress, 
and adversity are, as some believe them to be, strong forces in 
the production of the great men, there is no evidence from the 
study of royalty to support such a view. Wars have been in 
progress during much of the period [covered by the investi- 
gations]. Sometimes the royal hero has made his appearance, 
but more often he has not. It was not alone in the days of 
Henry IV of France and Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden that 
the times called for great men. The times are continually 
caUing for great men. Never did a d3n[ng country call mor 
urgently than Spain in the last three centuries, but none ha 
yet appeared. Italy had to wait fifty years in bondage for he 
deliverers, — Cavour, Garibaldi, and Victor Emanuel. En[- 
land could not get a good Stuart, but in a descendant of W 
liam of Orange, she found a hero in William III. . . . 

"Therefore it would seem that we are forced to the conr 
sion that all these rough differences in intellectual acti- 
which are susceptible of grading on a scale of ten are di 
predetprmi"' i differences in the r>rimarv germ- cells." 



I EDUCATIONAL VALUES 

(c) Studies of Consanguineal Resemblances in Mental 
-aits, (i) Pearson's Investigations of Brothers. The refine- 
3nts of statistical methods have made possible some com- 
xative studies of heredity and environment which add 
teresting testimony to the conclusions foreshadowed by 
ilton's early studies and substantiated in large measure 
' Woods. Karl Pearson's investigation ^ of the relation 
tween the mental and physical characteristics of brothers 
especially significant. Pearson's "coefficient of correla- 
>n" is a mathematically derived symbol which indicates the 
.ationship which two groups of individuals bear to one an- 
ber in any trait or characteristic which can be measured, 
for example, out of a thousand pairs of brothers measured 
to height, it were found that the two tallest individuals 
;re brothers and the two shortest individuals brothers, 
d that for every grade between the tallest and the shortest, 
others fell together, then the index of correlation for height 
long the one thousand brothers would be represented by 
e symbol -f i. If, on the other hand, the individuals on 
e ''tall" side of the scale invariably had brothers who fell 
corresponding places on the "short" side of the scale, the 
lex of correlation would be — i. In the one case there 
)uld be a perfect direct relation of brothers as to height : in 
e second case, there would be a perfect inverse relation. 
1 its surface, such an outcome of measurement would be 
[possible. It might well be, however, that between 
ese two extremes, a coefficient could be found that 
)uld express accurately the relation that normally ex- 
s in stature between brothers. Thus a coefficient of 
.80 would represent a high degree of resemblance; a 
efficient of —.80, a high degree of discrepancy or differ- 

K. Pearson: "On the Laws of Inheritance in MslJ,'' Btometrikat 
ii, Pt. II, pp. 131-190. 



THE LIMITATIONS OF EDUCATIVE FORCES 9 1 

ence, while the coefficient o would mean that no uniform 
relation whatsoever existed.^ 

Pearson utilized this method in comparing the mental and 
physical resemblance of two thousand pairs of brothers. These 
brothers were graded by their teachers with reference to cer- 
tain mental characteristics. The grades were then arranged 
in order from the lowest to the highest, and the relationship 
of the brothers determined. The following table gives the 
results : — 

AbiHty +.46 

Self-assertiveness 53 

Vivacity 47 

Conscientiousness 59 

Popularity 50 

Temper 51 

Self-consciousness 59 

Shyness 52 

Handwriting 53 

Average 52 

These figures mean that in the average of a thousand cases, 
brothers resemble one another very markedly in respect of the 
quaHties measured. A very " capable " individual is Hkely 
to have a brother whose capability is much above the aver- 
age, while a dull or mediocre individual is likely to have a 
brother who is dull or mediocre. Now if it be proved that 
environmental and educative influences are approximately the 
same for brothers and will consequently produce the same 
results, the resemblance is not due to inherited traits, but to a 

^ For a description of this method of measuring relationships, see 
G. M. Whipple: Manual of Mental and Physical Tests, Baltimore, 
1910, ch. i. Thorndike (Educational Psychology, 1910, p. 189) seriously " 
questions the accuracy of all correlation coefi&cients calculated prior to 
Spearman's critique of the method in 1904. 



92 EDUCATIONAL VALUES 

similarity in environment. The significant fact in Pearson's 
results is that the degree of resemblance which he finds be- 
tween the mental traits of brothers is almost precisely the 
same as the degree of resemblance between physical traits 
that are unquestionably not only inherited but also unmodi- 
fiable by external influences. Thus the average of the coeffi- 
cients of resemblance of brothers in respect of stature, color of 
the hair, size of the head, length of the arm, color of the eyes, 
etc., is +-517, which is almost the same as the average of the 
coefficients for mental resemblance. 

Pearson's work has been criticized by Spearman ^ on the 
ground that teachers' gradings are peculiarly liable to chance 
errors, but he concludes that, if these errors operate as he 
supposes them to, the coefficients would really be higher than 
those which Pearson has pubhshed. Thorndike- also criti- 
cizes Pearson for underestimating the importance of the errors 
in grading, and for permitting the factor of suggestion to op- 
erate in the directions given to the teachers who did the 
grading; he also maintains that Pearsonfs conclusions from 
his data should be seriously questioned because it cannot 
be determined just what the data measure.^ 

(2) Studies of Twins. That light upon the problem of 
mental inheritance could be gained by a comparison of the 
mental resemblances between twins first suggested itself to 
Galton.^ He secured data regarding (i) twins who, while 

^ C. Spearman : American Journal of Psychology, vol. xv., 1904, pp.gyff. 

2 E. L. Thorndike : op. ciL, pp. 80 ff. 

' Cf. Thorndike, op. cit., p. 84: "To prove that conscientiousness is 
independent of training is to prove too much. One fears that Professor 
Pearson may next produce coefficients of correlation to show that the 
political party that a man joins, the place where he lives, and the dialect 
that he speaks are matters of pure inheritance uninfluenced by family 
training." 

^ F. Galton : Inquiries into Human Faculty and its Development, Lon- 
don, 1883, pp. 226 £E. 



THE LIMITATIONS OF EDUCATIVE FORCES 93 

alike in childhood, spent their mature years under different 
environmental conditions and (2) twins who, dissimilar at 
birth, grew up under practically identical environmental 
conditions. He believes that his data justify the conclusion 
that mental resemblance persists in the first case, and that 
mental resemblance is not induced by similar environments 
in the second case. He reached this conclusion, not by 
actual measurements, but by comparing statements made by 
parents. 

Thorndike's more recent study of twins ^ gives evidence that 
in a measure confirms this conclusion. Fifty pairs of twins 
from nine to fifteen years of age were measured with reference • 
to mental and physical resemblances. Six tests were em- 
ployed to determine mental resemblance : (i) the ability of 
the subject to detect and mark A's on a page of ''pied" type ; 
(2) the ability to detect and mark words containing a and / 
and e and r on a printed page; (3) the ability to detect 
misspelled words on a printed page ; (4) ability in addition ; 
(5) ability in multiplication; (6) abiUty to give the word op- 
posite in meaning to a stimulus word (good-bad, false-true, 
and the like). The coefficients of correlation in these capaci- 
ties were found to be as follows : — 

"A" test -i-.73 

Word test 75 

Misspelled word test 75 

Addition 75 

MultipHcation 80 

"Opposites" test 80— .90 

The rather close paralleHsm between the mental resem- 
blances and the physical resemblances of twins is shown by 

1 E. L. Thoradike : "Measurement of Twins," Archives of Philosophy y 
Psychology, aiid Scientific Methods, No. i, 1905. 



94 EDUCATIONAL VALUES 

comparison of the foregoing table with the following coefficients 
of correlation in physical traits : — 

Height +.775 

Width of head 824 

Circumference of head 745 

Cephalic index 74 

Forearm length 66 

If Pearson's data are at all reliable, and if they may be 
legitimately compared with these determinations by Thorn- 
dike, it would seem that both mental and physical resemblances 
are more striking in twins than in siblings, and that the un- 
questioned increase of physical resemblance between twins 
over the amount of physical resemblance among sibhngs is 
paralleled by equal increases in mental resemblance. 

6. There seems to be little doubt that the differences in 
mental capacity shown by different individuals must be 
attributed very largely to hereditary influences, — to 
variation in the germ-cells. It is not to be inferred from 
this, however, that educative forces have no significant 
function in modifying human conduct. In answer to the 
query, what can education accomplish when the possi- 
bilities of human achievement seem to be fixed so rigidly 
by heredity, the following propositions maybe considered: 

(a) As pointed out above, education, in the largest 
sense of the word, can and must furnish every individual, 
no matter what his native capacity, with the conduct- 
controls that are represented by the culture-materials of 
the race. The investigations of heredity do not, at any 
point, controvert this principle. Capacity for achieve- 
ment is doubtless inherited, but whether that achieve- 



THE LIMITATIONS OF EDUCATIVE FORCES 95 

ment is upon a low or a high plane, — whether the gifted 
individual unwittingly rediscovers old truths, or proceeds 
from the most advanced position taken by past achieve- 
ment, — depends upon the success with which education 
fulfills its mission. 

Woods's investigations substantiate this principle. The 
forces of heredity express themselves most clearly in royalty, 
in part, at least, because royalty may be said to provide uni- 
form educational opportunities for its progeny. The educa- 
tional or environmental influences being practically the same, 
or the differences being of such a nature as to counterbalance 
one another, the residue of differentiae among the various in- 
dividuals must be due to variations in the germ-cells. This 
does not minimize the importance of training. It simply 
acknowledges that, where opportunities for training are 
approximately equal, all differences will be hereditary 
differences. 

7. (b) While differences due to heredity stand out 
prominently when the educational or environmental in- 
fluences are approximately the same for all individuals, it 
is equally true that much more striking differences may be 
justly ascribed to the environment where environmental 
and educational influences vary with different individuals 
of approximately equal mental capacity. Thus the sav- 
age infant, taken from his savage environment and 
reared in an environment of civilization, would, if returned 
to his primitive environment, at maturity, be a vastly 
different individual from his brothers and sisters who had 
missed training of civilized life. Three Fuegians who 
had spent three years among civilized peoples returned 



96 EDUCATIONAL VALUES 

to their native land on the ship Beagle at the time when 
Darwin made his memorable voyage. Darwin witnessed 
the meeting between these partially civilized Fuegians 
and their kinsmen. The differences in tastes, attitudes, 
and conduct in general, due to even three years in an 
entirely different environment, were striking in the 
extreme.^ 

8. (c) While the exceptional capacity which expresses 
itself in discovery and invention is to be looked upon as 
hereditary in its nature, it remains to education to pass on 
to future generations the fruits of these inventions and 
discoveries, and thus bring the mass of mankind to the 
level that genius attains. Newton said that he made his 
discoveries by "intending his mind" upon the problems 
that he wished to solve; to which Huxley adds that 
"forty lesser men might have intended their minds until 
they cracked" without achieving like results. But these 
forty lesser men may, nevertheless, assimilate the ex- 
periences that Newton alone was able to undergo, and 
profit by his discoveries just as effectively, in many 
respects, as if they themselves had made them. It is\ 
in this power to bring the masses of the race up to the 
point that genius has reached that education finds an 
undisputed function. Native capacity or genius, through 
the insight and the Herculean efforts that are vouchsafed 
to it alone, lifts humanity, notch by notch, to ever higher 
and higher planes. But it remains for education to place 

^ Cf. Darwin: Journal of Researches, New York, 1897 (Appleton's 
edition), ch. x. 



THE LIMITATIONS OF EDUCATIVE FORCES 97 

the props that will sustain the race at these successive 
levels. Let education fail in this, and the lives of the 
masters will have been lived in vain. 

9. {d) While it is, perhaps, justifiable to speak of en- 
vironmental influences as merely estabHshing a ''thin 
veneer" over the fundamental substratum of native en- 
dowment, it must not be forgotten that this '' thin veneer " 
includes everything that we call civilization. It was 
this "thin veneer" that made Darwin's half-civilized 
Fuegians differ from their untutored brothers and sisters 
more strikingly, perhaps, in some respects, than these 
brothers and sisters differed from the anthropoids. 
It is this thin veneer that has made the difference 
between the German of to-day and his savage for- 
bear that roamed the forest in the days of Tacitus and 
Caesar. This measure of advance is not insignificant ac- 
cording to accepted standards. And yet, it is well to 
remember that, after all, it is only a veneer, and that, if the 
veneering process which we call education should fail to 
operate, three generations would suffice to obliterate its 
traces, — three generations in which every educational pro- 
cess ceased to function would take the race back to the level 
at which it stood at the dawn of recorded history. 

It may, of course, be urged that selection has worked toward 
an "improvement in the human breed" during all these gen- 
erations, and that even a total loss of culture-materials would 
not mean a total degradation of a civilized race to the plane 
of savagery. One cannot question the possibility, — and yet 
how slowly natural selection works in the human species is 



98 EDUCATIONAL VALUES 

strikingly evidenced by the ease with which traits that seem 
to be a part of native endowment are transformed through 
environmental influences. Witness, for example, the change 
that two generations of Western culture have wrought in the 
character of the Japanese people, and the even more remark- 
able transformation which Western culture is working in 
China to-day. If natural selection ever had an opportunity 
permanently to fix race-characteristics, it certainly had that 
opportunity in China. And yet, just as the foot of the Chi- 
nese girl, if left unbound from birth, grows into the normal 
form, even though generations of mothers preceding had their 
feet bound from infancy, so the Chinese mind, cramped 
through a thousand generations by Oriental traditions, as- 
sumes the Occidental characteristics when the environment 
is changed. In this case it seems fairly certain that, not 
only have acquired characteristics failed entirely to have any 
influence upon heredity, but also that natural selection has 
failed to build up a race having characteristics that would 
be naturally adapted to the environment. The improve- 
ment of the human race through breeding is doubtless a pos- 
sibility, but the opportunities for its improvement through 
education are still far from realized, and these promise far 
richer returns in a generation than breeding could bring in 
a millennium.^ 

1 There is, of course, no reason why the two processes should not 
combine to form a better race. Cf. the following conclusion reached by 
one of the leading contemporary authorities upon heredity : "If there is 
little or no scientific warrant for our being other than extremely skeptical 
at present as to the inheritance of acquired characters . . . this skepti- 
cism lends greater importance than ever, on one hand, to a good 'nature,' 
to secure which is the business of careful mating ; and, on the other hand, 
to a good 'nurture,' to secure which for our children is one of our most 
obvious and binding duties ; the hopefulness of the task resting especially 
upon the fact that, unlike the beasts that perish, man has a lasting ex- 
ternal heritage, capable of endless modification for the better, a heritage 



THE LIMITATIONS OF EDUCATIVE FORCES 99 

10. {e) With regard to the possibility of influencing in 
any significant measure by training and education such 
general mental characteristics as Pearson measured in his 
study of brothers, — such characteristics as shyness, 
conscientiousness, vivacity, popularity, and intelligence, 
— it is perhaps well to hold judgment in abeyance at the 
present time. That these factors can be less readily in- 
fluenced by educative forces than certain more specific 
characteristics, there can be no doubt ; but that syste- 
matic efforts, undertaken by well-matured methods, may 
not have some modifying influence, even upon these fac- 
tors, the experiments that we have reviewed do not de- 
monstrate with finality. All that they tell us is that, under 
the conditions of education under which the individuals 
measured have grown up, the effects of environment 
were not sufficiently significant either to increase or to 

decrease the force of heredity. On the other hand, with 

i 
regard to moral character, which Woods ^ is convinced is 

almost as completely determined by inheritance as is 
physical form, there is abundant evidence from reforma- 
tories, and especially from schools for delinquent children, 
that the proper sort of modifying influences can turn into 
law-abiding citizens individuals who, beyond all doubt, 
would otherwise go to swell the ranks of the criminals. 

In the State Industrial School for Girls at Geneva, Illinois, 
to which girls between the ages of ten and eighteen are sen- 

of ideas and ideals, embodied in prose and verse, in statue and painting, 
in cathedral and university, in tradition and convention, and above all, 
in society itself." — J. A. Thomson : Heredity, New York, 1908, p. 249. 
1 Woods, op. ciL, pp. 287 ff. 



lOO EDUCATIONAL VALUES 

tenced for varying terms of years, but commonly until they 
have at least reached their majority, it is reported that 80 
per cent of all persons admitted are turned from lives of error 
and become eflScient members of the social order upon their 
release. It is not sufficient for the advocate of heredity to 
maintain that this 80 per cent of salvage represents the girls 
who were not, upon incarceration, inherently bad. That 
is simply begging the question. Unsubjected to the reform- 
ing influence of the school, the proportion that became re- 
spectable and law-abiding members of society would be 
pitiably small. With the school's influence, 80 per cent are 
saved. If their inherent characteristics would not save them 
and their acquired characteristics can and do save them, 
the practical moral value of the training cannot be disputed.^ 

II. (/) That external forces may have some influence 
in either increasing or decreasing the factors that Galton 
urges so insistently as conditions of eminence, — zeal, 
ability, and capacity for hard work, — there is evidence 
from experimental psychology, particularly with respect 
to zeal and the capacity for work. The well-known in- 

1 It is interesting to note that, in spite of the lack of statistical evidence, 
the authorities upon heredity (with the possible exception of Woods) 
cling rather tenaciously to the view that moral traits are more readily 
modifiable by the environment than are intellectual traits. For example, 
Thorndike {Educational Psychology, ist edition, pp. 45 ff.) : "The im- 
portant moral traits seem to be more a matter of the direction of capacities 
and the creation of desires and aversions by environment than are the 
important qualities of intellect and efficiency. Over them, then, edu- 
cation has greater sway. ..." Also Thomson {Heredity, p. 248) : 
"The fact is undoubted that the initiatives of moral character are in some 
degree transmissible, though from the nature of the case, the influences 
of education, example, environment, and the like are here more potent 
than in regard to structural features. . . . The plasticity of character 
under moral nurture is a fact which gives us all hope." 



THE LIMITATIONS OF EDUCATIVE FORCES lOI 

fluence of pleasant and unpleasant stimuli upon the 
amount of energy which can be directed toward a given 
task, — the fact that an unpleasant stimulus decreases the 
availabihty of energy/ — would seem to speak strongly 
against Galton's fataHstic conclusion. It is true that 
geniuses are frequently possessed of the capacity to do 
strenuous work without this external advantage, and 
therein perhaps Hes their chief difference from the "aver- 
age man" ; but if education, by a control of the environ- 
ment, can enable an individual to give more energy to the 
task than would otherwise be possible, it is conceivable 
that it may, in some instances, overcome a disadvantage 
which might otherwise prevent a man who is talented not 
quite to the point of genius from doing the work of genius. 

No little confusion in the discussion of heredity has arisen 
from the terminology. One commonly speaks of " character " 
as a sum of the tendencies contributed by heredity on the 
one hand and by environment on the other hand. It has 
very seldom been pointed out that the relationship could be 
much more helpfully thought of as a product. In other words, 
any single conduct-control operating in adult life is the ex- 
pression of an inherited tendency times an acquired tendency, 
rather than of an inherited tendency plus an acquired tend- 
ency. 

12. {g) That education may work very radical changes 
in specific characteristics, there can be no doubt. While 

1 Mayer and Orth found also that unpleasant mental states lengthened 
reaction-times in their association-tests. (Cf. Zeitschrift fiir Psychologie, 
vol. xxvi, 1901, p. II.) In other words, mental activity is more 
sluggish and consequently inefi&cient under these conditions. 



102 EDUCATIONAL VALUES 

the investigations indicate that, under our present knowl- 
edge of educative forces and the best means to apply 
them, such a thing as ^'general efficiency" seems very 
little affected by educational influences, special efficiency 
is very highly modified.^ 

13. On the whole, the limitations under which educa- 
tion can with certainty produce desired results are fairly 
clear. It can bring the mass of mankind up to- the level 
that the race has reached by furnishing the conduct-con- 
trols that are represented by the culture-products. 
These conduct-controls will probably influence adjust- 
ment in specific rather than in general directions. 

On the other hand, as education comes to have a more 
effective control over the methods that it employs, as it comes 
more and more thoroughly to know and understand its 
problems and the materials with which it deals, there is 
large reason for hope that its sphere of influence may be 
extended to cover many of the factors governing adjust- 
ment that now seem to be beyond its reach.^ 

^ Specialized professional training, for example, is a very important 
factor in determining " general merit " among elementary-school 
teachers. Cf. W. C. Ruediger and G. D. Strayer : " The QuaHties of 
Merit in Teachers," Journal of Educational Psychology, 1910, vol. i, 
pp. 272-278. 

2 With this important qualification (namely, that education needs 
first of all a thoroughgoing analysis and mastery of its methods), even 
Ward's optimism may be justified : — 

"The trend of the whole investigation has been in the general direction 
of showing that great men have been produced by the cooperation of 
two causes, genius and opportunity, and that neither alone can accom- 
plish it. But genius is a constant factor, very abundant in every rank 
of life, while opportunity is a variable factor and chiefly artificial. As 



THE LIMITATIONS OF EDUCATIVE FORCES 1 03 

Far from stimulating a pessimistic outlook, there is to 
the writer's mind something distinctly inspiring in this 
challenge which the biologists and the students of hered- 
ity throw down before the educator. If the latter lets 
the gauntlet lie untouched, if he lies back supinely under 
the spell of fatalism, it is simply because he has read into 
the results of the heredity-investigations vastly more than 
is there. Even upon their face, these investigations leave 
to education an all-important and absolutely essential 
task. But to this indisputed field, there is clear evidence 
that another may be added if only education develops 
its technique a little farther. Already there are indica- 
tions in the work of Freud,^ Jung,^ and other investiga- 

such it is something that can be supplied practically at will. The actual 
manufacture, therefore, of great men, of the agents of civilization, of the 
instruments of achievement, is not a Utopian conception, but a practical 
undertaking. It is also comparatively simple, and consists in nothing 
but the extension to all the members of society of an equal opportunity 
for the exercise of whatever mental powers each may possess. There are 
many artificial substitutes for the various kinds of favorable environ- 
ment, but since . . . these are effective only as they constitute an edu- 
cational environment, it is obvious that this is the real factor in the de- 
velopment of genius and the progress of civilization. If, therefore, the 
educational environment can be supplied, the rest may be dispensed with, 
and the real end to be attained is simply and solely the establishment 
on a gigantic and universal scale of an educational environment." — L. 
F. Ward : Applied Sociology, pp. 220 ff. 

^ S. Freud: "The Origin and Development of Psycho-Analysis," 
American Journal of Psychology, vol. xxi, 1910. 

2 C. G. Jung: "The Association Method," American Journal of Psy- 
chology, vol. xxi, 1910. Also Emma Fiirst : " Statistische Untersuch- 
ungen iiber Wortassoziationen, " Journal fiir Psychologie und Neurologic, 
vol. ix, 1907, pp. 243 ff. Cf. also E. Jones: Journal of Educational 
Psychology, vol. i, 1910, pp. 497-520. 



104 EDUCATIONAL VALUES 

tors that the dominant motives of adult life are con- 
ditioned far more narrowly than has hitherto been sup- 
posed by the experiences of early childhood acting upon 
the fundamental instincts.^ ' As yet, we know only that 
this hypothesis is highly probable; how to control 
these experiences so that the bases of future conduct may 
be accurately and effectively established must be left for 
patient investigation. But the outlook is extremely 
hopeful. The crying need, then, is for such investigation, 
not only in this new field of psycho-analysis (which has 
hitherto been cultivated chiefly by the alienist, but which 
promises valuable service to the educator), but also in 
the field of formal educational methodology. These 
chapters are presented in the hope that they may con- 
tribute even a little toward the recognition of this need. 
14. The writer has purposely emphasized in the fore- 
going discussion the data that speak most strongly against 
the potency of experience as compared with that of hered- 
ity. The educator is and should be predisposed to a 
belief in the importance of the former factor. To him 
the writings of the "environmental" school are replete 
with inspiration. As an antidote to Galton, Pearson, and 
Woods, the works of Ward ^ and Cooley ^ are especially to 

1 It is in the closer similarity of associations of ideas between 
mother and children as compared with the father and children that 
the influence of constant and intimate contact is most clearly shown. 
(Cf. Furst, op. cit.) Galton found marked similarity between twins in 
association of ideas, but attributed it to hereditary influences, {in- 
quiries into Human Faculty, p. 231.) 

2 L. F. Ward : Applied Sociology, New York, 1906. 

' C. H. Cooley : Human Nature and the Social Order, New York, 1902. 



THE LIMITATIONS OF EDUCATIVE FORCES I05 

be recommended.^ The present writer has not given in 
detail the arguments that these men have so admirably 
presented, for, while he firmly believes that a strong faith 
in their doctrines is essential to enthusiastic service in the 
cause of education, he is also convinced that education 
stands in greatest need at the present time of a penetrat- 
ing study of its chief problem, — the modification of hu- 
man conduct through experience ; and an unchecked faith 
in the power of education is likely to tempt the educator 
to assume that such a study is needless. Gal ton, Woods, 
and Pearson have thrown down a challenge that, — apart 
from the ultimate truth or falsity of their hypotheses, — 
should have a beneficial influence in spurring education 
to this investigation. 

^ F, H, Hayward's Education and the Heredity Spectre (London, 
1908) is likewise very stimulating reading, although strongly partisan. 



PART II 

THE CLASSIFICATION OF FUNC- 
TIONS AND VALUES 

CHAPTER VII 

The Criterion of Value 

1. In the preceding chapters a classification has been 
proposed for the conduct-controls that may result from 
the processes of education. The question now arises, 
How may the relative worth of these factors be deter- 
mined ? Granted that certain controls may result from 
the operation of educative materials, what controls are 
to be selected as worthy of perpetuation, and upon what 
basis shall worth be determined ? 

2. The following discussions will employ the standard 
of social efficiency as the norm to which questions of 
this type shall be referred. The writer has, in another 
place,^ attempted to justify this standard as a working 
guide in educational theory. , . In connection with that 
discussion, the chief characteristics of the socially-effi- 
cient individual were summarized as follows : (i) eco- 
nomic efficiency, or ability to "pull his own weight" in 
economic life ; (2) negative morality, or the willingness 

^ Cf. Educative Process, ch. iii. 
107 



I08 EDUCATIONAL VALUES 

to sacril&ce his own desires when their gratification 
would interfere with the economic efficiency of others; 
(3) positive morality, or the willingness to sacrifice his 
own desires when their gratification would not contribute, 
directly or indirectly, to social progress. 

3. The social aim of education is o;pen to criticism 
from several points of view, and it will be profitable to 
examine briefly at least two of the more serious objec- 
tions that may be raised against its acceptance. 

{a) It is frankly objective. It measures educational 
values, not by the subjective effects of educative ma- 
terials upon the individual, but by the objective effects 
of these materials, — by their conduct-outcome, and 
even by their conduct-outcome only in so far as this 
affects society.^ The inference is that many activities, 
recognized by the individual as ''good" because they 
promote his own happiness, may not receive a sanction 
from the standpoint of this aim. Thus it is feared that 
too strong an insistence upon the social aim will place 

1 This is the essence of Ruediger's objection to the aim as stated in 
his Principles of Education (Boston, 1910, pp. 60 flf.) : "Strictly inter- 
preted, the social aim is but a partial statement of the aim of education, 
the truth of which is included in 'adjustment to life.' 'Life' is a broader 
term than 'social,' and includes it, just as human life is broader than 
social life, including the latter. Man comes in contact with the inanimate, 
the plant, and animal worlds as well as with the social, and these contacts 
are not always for the sake of the social. They may be primarily for 
the individual's own gratification. In actual life the individual is not 
subordinated to society in the extent that is implied by Bagley. Man 
indulges his taste in music, art, literature, philosophy, and even science, 
largely for his own immediate enjoyment, without any thought of social 
benefit, and it is conceivable that such benefit might not ensue." 



THE CRITERION OF VALUE IO9 

economic efficiency at a premium and accomplishments 
in art, music, and literature at a discount; or, in a 
broader way, it is feared that the objective aim of social 
efficiency may lead education to lose sight of the indi- 
vidual sanctions and rewards which are to be expressed 
in terms of pleasure, happiness, aesthetic enjoyment, and 
self-realization. 

4. This objection may be answered in part by saying 
that social efficiency does not preclude the cultivation 
of those tastes, diversions, and proclivities that bring to 
the individual their own subjective rewards. Indeed, the 
social aim would distinctly sanction the cultivation of 
such controls among all the individuals who are touched 
by educative forces, — provided always, of course, that 
the indulgence of the tastes that are cultivated does not 
interfere with the highest efficiency of the individual as 
a member of the social group. Indeed, it is one of the 
most important tasks of education to engender tastes 
that are consistent with social welfare; for recreation and 
relaxation are essential to the best service, and recreation , . 
and relaxation must be upon the highest possible plane 
if the degenerating effects of dissipation and prodigality 
are to be counteracted. Surely what is of the highest 
benefit to society in this connection is of the highest 
benefit to the individual, and vice versa. There is no 
danger, then, that a rational interpretation of the social 
aim will not find abundant room for art, literature, 
music, and the drama, as well as for healthful sport and 
for recreation of all sane and wholesome varieties. 



no EDUCATIONAL VALUES 

5. But even if this were not true, it is hard to see 
why the social criterion should not have the position of 
primacy in a rational theory of education. It is true 
that the race is composed of individuals, but it is also 
true that the individual has always been subordinate to 
the race. Subjectively, the sanction of pleasure, happi- 
ness, or enjoyment may seem to be ultimate, but the 
slightest objective study serves to show that this sub- 
jective primacy of the feeling-tone is an illusion. It is 
true that, in the natural history of mind, the pleasant 
affective tone (the pleasure-signature) has, in general, 
attached to experiences that were biologically good, and 
the unpleasant affective tone (the pain-signature) has 
attached to experiences that were biologically bad. 
But ''good" and ''bad" for whom or for what? Cer- 
tainly primarily for the race, and not primarily for the 
individual. Natural selection has seen to it that adjust- 
ments which, in the long run, are beneficial to the race 
are pleasant to the individual, but for man to conclude 
from this subjective sanction that the pleasant affective 
tone is the ultimate criterion of worth is a species of 
anthropocentricism comparable in every way to the 
naive belief that the grass and the foliage are green and 
the sky blue because man finds these colors pleasant to 
the eye. Man has reached the point of intelligence 
where he sees the fallacy of this latter assumption, — 
while still enjoying the colors that nature so lavishly 
provides. He has not yet reached the point where he 
sees that the pleasant affective tone attaching to certain 



THE CRITERION OF VALUE III 

experiences is simply nature's way of indicating that the 
experiences are, on the whole, good for the race, and 
that the accompanying pleasure to the individual is 
only incidental, not ultimate, — although, as in the other 
instance, he may keep on enjoying the pleasures, even 
though he knows that they are not ultimate sanctions. 

6. Man has traveled a long way on the road of mental 
development since the pleasure and pain signatures were 
first produced by variation and, because they were good 
for the race, were perpetuated by natural selection. 
To-day man is possessed of an intelligence which has 
greatly diminished in importance many of the immediate 
sanctions of instinct. While intelligence was feeble, the 
organism needed the clear and unequivocal sanctions of 
immediate pleasure and pain to guide it in its adjust- 
ments. But when intelKgence became stronger and 
gained a clearer insight into the forces that played upon 
the organism, it discovered that, after all, nature had 
done its work only in the rough. A great many things 
that were pleasantly toned were found to be bad ; some 
things that were unpleasantly toned were found to be 
good; and man gradually reconstructed his scheme of 
values to fit these new insights, — and to fit also the 
changed environment which the elaborate organization 
of human society brought about. The immediate pleas- 
ure and pain sanctions gave way to rational thought- 
constructions which indicated with much greater nicety 
and precision the effects of adjustment. But, through 
all these changes, the fundamental law of life has not 



112 EDUCATIONAL VALUES 

been repealed. Just as the primitive sanctions of pleas- 
ure and pain were selected *' naturally" because they 
promoted the welfare of the species, so these new sanc- 
tions must be selected ^'intelligently" upon the same 
basis. Natural selection has lost its sway in the human 
species because intelHgent selection brings about the 
fortunate results much more quickly and certainly. 
But "fortunate" for whom or for what? Certainly 
primarily for the race, just as in the ages that have 
passed; certainly secondarily for the individual, whose 
subordination to the race is fundamental. 

Parallel with the development of human intelligence 
has gone the development of what may be called the 
''social conscience," — that ideal which impels men to 
judge the actions of others in the light of the social 
significance of these actions.^ This social conscience 
represents in human society the fundamental law of all 
organic life, — the law of race-primacy. As a final 
stage in the readjustment of this law to fit the newer 
conditions there is the present tendency to make this 
''social conscience" the criterion of one's own acts as 
well as of the acts of others, — to do away entirely with 
pleasure- and pain-signatures as unworthy to serve as 
sanctions for intelligent beings, and to make race-progress 
and race-welfare the subjective purpose of every life. 



1 For example, the social stigma that attaches to those convicted or 
even suspected of crime, or of unsocial practices. The often pitiless and 
sometimes inequitable and unjust application of this standard is only 
society's almost instinctive adjustment toward self-preservation. 



THE CRITERION OF VALUE II3 

7. (b) This naturally leads to a consideration of the 
second objection that may be urged against the social 
aim of education. If social efficiency is admitted as the 
working aim of education, it still leaves open the ques- 
tion, What is the destiny of human society? Toward -^ 
what goal should education, in so far as it controls the 
driving forces, attempt to direct social development? 
And again the interests of the individual are raised to 
the forefront of the discussion. Now that human society 
has sent instinct down into the fire-hold to stoke the 
furnaces and placed intelligent purpose upon the bridge to 
command the ship, is it not its manifest duty to lay the 
course toward that port in which every individual of the 
species will be able to extract the largest measure of 
individual happiness from life ? If the happiness of the 
individual cannot be considered as an ultimate sanction 
for individual conduct, is it not justifiable to place the 
greatest happiness of the greatest number as the ulti- 
mate sanction for individual conduct ? 

No one could consistently quarrel with this solution 
of the problem if it is accepted as purely objective, — 
if, in other words, the criterion of the happiness of 
others does not lead the individual to infer that his own 
individual happiness is a matter of proper concern for 
him. To work for the happiness of others is an indis- 
pensable factor in insuring the highest measure of social 
efficiency. If I say to myself, "I will seek my own 
happiness in prorroting the happiness of others," well 
and good, — provided that any failure of the pleasure- 



114 EDUCATIONAL VALUES 

signature to attach to my own efforts does not impel 
me to face about and seek my own pleasure in a narrower 
sense. If it has this effect, then having made happiness 
explicitly my ultimate aim will be extremely unfortunate. 
Under such conditions (and such conditions are con- 
ceivable), it would have been far better for me to forget 
all about my own happiness and set my mind resolutely 
upon the accompHshment of some purpose that will 
promote social progress. Happiness will then very 
likely take care of itself, and, in any case, kind nature 
will see to it that pleasures sufficient to the tonic needs 
of life are enjoyed. 

8. But what is this social progress for which one 
should strive? What is its criterion? In the writer's 
opinion, the only rational answer to this question is. 
Achievement. That conduct is worthy which pro- 
motes achievement ; that achievement is worthy which 
promotes among all men the possibilities of further 
achievement. One works for the welfare and happiness 
of others, not because this welfare and this happiness are 
ends in themselves, but because what we term happi- 
ness is a condition of achievement; one works for the 
race, not that some future generation may spend its 
days in contemplating the true, the beautiful, and the 
good, — but rather that, so long as the human species 
shall exist, it may continue to participate in that great 
cosmic process which we call evolution ; and that, when 
the end comes, and the scroll is at las: rolled up, it shall 
be a scroll worthy of the only species of organic life 



THE CRITERION OF VALUE II5 

into whose keeping has been intrusted the consciousness 
of purpose. 

One can indeed do no better here than to subscribe 
to Thorndike's formula : ^ "... the real work of man 
for man — the increase of achievement through the im- 
provement of the environment.'' 

9. All this is very far from saying that the feelings 
and emotions can or should be read out of life. It is 
very far from saying that pleasure and enjoyment are 
bad. It is simply insisting that the purposeful conduct 
of life shall explicitly recognize these forces as means to 
ends and not as ends in themselves; just as, in the in- 
stinctive conduct of life, they were implicitly means to 
ends. The emotional forces must be sublimated, ethe- 
realized, — but they will still remain forces. And one 
may, of course, identify happiness with the successful 
accomplishment of a purpose that meets these social 
conditions. One may insist that the man who sacrifices 
the most imperious desires of life because their gratifica- 
tion is inconsistent with the "categorical imperative" ^ 
does so because the pleasant consequences of consistency 
with an ideal overtop the possible pleasure of gratify- 
ing his desires ; this (or its converse, at least) may be 
a true account of the impelling motive ; but it certainly 
needs the testimony of a frank introspective analysis 

1 E. L. Thorndike: Educational Psychology, New York, 1910, p. 139. 

^ Kant's famous dictum, "Act so that the maxim of thy will may 
always and at the same time hold good as a principle of universal legis- 
lation," is the clearest formulation of the social criterion of conduct. 



Il6 EDUCATIONAL VALUES 

of the voKtional consciousness to make it convincing. 
Logically, it may seem inevitable, — so also certain 
other mental processes have seemed logically inevitable, 
but introspection has failed to find them. 

ID. Have we not in this sublimation of primitive 
feeling-tone, attenuated to what is, in effect, its vanish- 
ing point, an adequate basis for the development in 
the individual of the ideal of Duty, — a basis for 
the rational conception of the Moral Law, which Kant 
placed among the ''given" factors in mental .life? 
And cannot an educational theory based upon an em- 
pirical psychology thus find in its system a natural place 
for the word ''Duty" which it has so long neglected ? 



CHAPTER VIII 

The Rubrics of Function and Value 

I. The discussions of educational values have not 
hitherto distinguished between two quite different types 
of controverted problems. The much-discussed question 
of formal disciphne, for example, is not, strictly speaking, 
a question of educational values ; it is rather a question 
of the possibility of educative materials functioning in a 
certain way. * No one would question for a moment the 
valuej from the point of view of social and economic effi- 
ciency, of the generalized "powers" and "capacities" 
that the study of certain subjects has been assumed to 
engender. The question at issue relates entirely to the| 
possibility of these subjects fulfilHng the functions that.^ 
their advocates maintain may be fulfilled. The keen 
powers of reasoning that mathematics is supposed to de- 
velop, for example, would be of unquestioned value if 
they could be made an inevitable outcome of mathemati- 
cal training. 

On the other hand, one may justly inquire as to the 
relative value, from the social point of view, of geography 
and manual training in the elementary curriculum, or of 
history and commercial arithmetic in the secondary curric- 
ulum. Properly speaking, these are questions of value, 

117 



Il8 EDUCATIONAL VALUES 

for they must be answered by reference to the standard of 
evaluation. The problem of formal discipline, on the 
other hand, cannot be solved by the application of this 
standard. It is fundamentally a scientific, not an ethical, 
question. It must be solved by psychological experimen- 
tation, and the task of such experimentation must be to 
demonstrate conclusively whether the supposed transfer 
of the results of training from one field to another actually 
occurs as the advocates of the doctrine assume. 

2. In the subsequent discussions an attempt will be 
made to distinguish sharply between questions oijunctiorij 
— positive questions, which must be answered by an ap- 
peal to facts ; and questions of value, — normative ques- 
tions, which must be answered by an appeal to norms or 
ideals. 

This dichotomy is quite in keeping with the distinction 
that was drawn between knowledge and ideals in Chapters 
III and IV. Ends and means must be sharply distinguished, 
especially when they are likely to be confused as standards 
of judgment. Facts and principles are, as has been said, 
interpolated controls of conduct. Ideals and norms are final 
or ultimate ends of conduct. The ultimate end of education 
that one adopts must become one's standard or norm for 
measuring the worth of the materials that enable one to 
gain this end. The facts and principles of the educative 
process are the interpolated guides that help one in adjust- 
ing means to ends. Educational psychology is the positive 
science which the educator must utiHze in this adjustment; 
ethics is the normative science which supplies the standards 
or ideals. 



THE RUBRICS OF FUNCTION AND VALUE II9 

3. In SO far as functions are concerned, the key to 
classification is inherent in the analyses presented in Part 
I. Educative materials differ in function according to 
the type of conduct-control that they engender. It will 
be useful, however, to classify the functions by grouping 
together related types of controls. This suggests the 
following scheme : — 

I. The Training Function: This will designate the opera- 
tion of materials that are to result in specific habits.k 
II. The Instructional Function: Designating the operation 
of materials that are to result in facts, principles, ideas, 
concepts, or meanings, or, generically, in knowledge. 

III. The Inspirational Function: Designating the operation 

of materials that are to result directly in ideals or 
emotionalized standards. 

IV. The Disciplinary or Indirect Training Function: Desig- 

nating the operation of materials that are to result 
in ideals of method or procedure, or prejudices in favor 
of certain habits, as an indirect result of the formation 
of such habits. 

* It should be borne in mind that the criterion of function is the type 
of conduct-control that the materials in question leave with the individual 
at the conclusion of the educational unit under consideration. Thus a 
course in primary reading has to fulfill a direct training function in that 
it must leave with the pupils a number of specific habits. A school exer- 
cise in reading may have a training or an instructional or an inspirational 
function, according as it leaves either (a) habits already fixed or well on 
the road to automatism ; (b) facts, principles, or id^as ; (c) ideals. But 
the facts, principles, ideas, and ideals may later work over into habits. Again 
a course in mathematics may leave with the pupil ideals of mathematical 
method, but these ideals may work over into habits in the pupil's later 
life. In any case, it is the type of conduct-control that is left at the con- 
clusion of the educational unit that determines the place of that unit in 
our classification. 



120 EDUCATIONAL VALUES 

V. The Recreative Function: Designating the operation of 
materials that are to result in tastes, sentiments, and 
interests. 
VI. The Interpretive Function: Designating the operation 
of materials that are to result in attitudes, "insights," 
or perspectives. 

The implications of these six rubrics will be discussed in 
detail in the following chapters. 

4. The classification of values is not so simple. The 
difficulty lies in selecting a principle of grouping that will 
have sole reference to the social criterion, or to any other 
single standard representing the ultimate aim of educa- 
tion. In order not to multiply terms needlessly, the ru- 
brics of value that have been commonly employed will 
be used, although the writer will not attempt to justify 
them upon the basis of any rigid principle of classification. 

{a) The Utilitarian Value. — The criterion of utili- 
tarian value, as the term will be used in the subsequent 
discussions, is the availability of the conduct-controls 
resulting from the operation of educative materials to pro- 
mote the economic efficiency of the individual. By eco- 
nomic efiiciency is meant the capacity of the individual 
to meet successfully the basic problems involved in 
earning a livelihood, — the problems of food, shelter, 
clothing, and the like. 

It is assumed that the socially efficient individuarwill 
be economically efficient, — that he will be able to ''pull 
his own weight" in the struggle for life, either directly by 
engaging in a productive activity, or indirectly by inspir- 



THE RUBRICS OF FUNCTION AND VALUE 121 

ing, encouraging, or educating others to increased pro- 
ductive activity. This value is synonymous with what 
Ruediger^ terms the ^'practical" value. 

5. It is needless to say that any one of the types of func- 
tion discussed above may realize a utilitarian value. 
From the point of view of strict utiHty, however, — from 
the point of view of meeting the immediate needs of se- 
curing food, clothing, and shelter, — the two types of 
control that are most important are (i) habits (and es- 
pecially habits of skill), and (2) knowledge (facts, prin- 
ciples, ideas, and meanings) ; consequently the important 
utiHtarian functions are the training and the instructional. 
Other controls are certainly contributory to the ends 
named in greater or less degree. Ideals, prejudices, atti- 
tudes, and perspectives will frequently, in the following, 
pages, be accorded a utiHtarian value. In general, how- 
ever, the value of these controls is not narrowly utilitarian. 

The pupil learns in school the fundamental number-facts. 
It may be reasonably predicted that he will find almost daily 
use for some of these. The value of the habits thus formed 
is consequently utilitarian in the narrow sense. Again, the 
pupil learns to associate printed symbols with their sound 
equivalents, and here, also, the utilitarian value is obvious. 
In geography, he learns the products of different countries; 
here the value may be utilitarian, although the chances are 
that the average pupil will have but few opportunities to 
apply such knowledge directly to the economic problems of 
life. Its inclusion among the subjects of common school 
education must, therefore, be justified upon another basis. 

* Ruediger, op. ciL, pp. 122-126. 



122 EDUCATIONAL VALUES 

Utilitarian values can be ascribed, therefore, only when the 
habits formed, or the knowledge imparted, or the ideals and 
prejudices engendered, can be clearly shown to be essential 
to the solution of some economic situation which the pupil 
will in all probabihty face in later life. The value is high in 
proportion as the situations demanding the functioning of 
the conduct-controls will be either of fundamental signifi- 
cance or of frequent occurrence in economic life. The value 
is small when the chances for such functioning are few in 
number and when the situations are of slight economic sig- 
nificance. 

6. Professor J. W. A. Young ^ has drawn a valuable 
distinction between direct and contingent utilitarian val- 
ues, — direct values being ascribed to materials the prod- 
ucts of which will inevitably find a useful function ; con- 
tingent values being ascribed to materials the products 
of which may be useful if one chances to meet situations 
where their functioning is demanded. Thus mechanical 
drawing is of contingent utilitarian value to the boy who 
may become a draughtsman ; reading, on the other hand, 
may be assumed to be of direct utility to every one. This 
distinction will be referred to later, although the discus- 
sions of the present volume, being largely limited to gen- 
eral as distinguished from vocational or specialized edu- 
cation, will not lay great stress upon contingent values. 

7. (6) The Preparatory Value. — Controls that do not 
function directly in economic situations may pave the 
way for the acquisition of controls that do so function. 
This preparatory value is generally recognized in educa- 

* J. W. A. Young : Teaching of Mathematics j New York, 1903, ch. ii. 



THE RUBRICS OF FUNCTION AND VALUE 1 23 

tional literature and the term will hereafter be used in its 
customary significance.^ 

8. Naturally, one would expect to find the preparatory 
value represented very frequently in the elementary and 
secondary curriculums, and this proves to be the case. 
While arithmetic is utilitarian to the last degree, -its 
preparatory value is not to be neglected. Geography, in 
opening the gate to history and to the natural sciences, 
finds one of its chief functions to be of this type. The 
language studies are represented in the preparatory Kst 
chiefly by reading and grammar. In the secondary 
school, the preparatory values become even more pro- 
nounced. Algebra and geometry find ultimate utiHty 
through applied science, mechanics, and engineering. 
Physics, while it possesses no small degree of utilitarian 
value, must also be accorded preparatory value. The 
languages, however, except as they lead to higher 
university study, must be justified upon other grounds. 

It is clear that the justification of all preparatory values 
must be sought in the materials for which they prepare. Thus 
mathematics and physics are but one step removed from a 
very obvious utilitarian function. If Latin and Greek, on 
the other hand, are justified by the fact that they prepare 
for philology as a university study, it is incumbent upon their 
advocates to establish the value of philology. If they lead 
the way to philosophy, then philosophy must be justified, and 
so on. 

9. The Conventional Value. In many cases, the ma- 
terials of education can lay claim to no other value than 

' See Ruediger, op. cit., pp. 120-122. 



124 EDUCATIONAL VALUES 

simply that society takes it for granted that everyone who 
is to be classed as ^'educated" must undergo instruction 
in them. 

One of the best instances of a subject that has an al- 
most exclusively conventional value is furnished by spell- 
ing. It is true that ability to spell correctly possesses a 
measure of utilitarian value ; certainly if one's spelling is 
sufi&ciently incorrect, one's meaning is quite obscured. 
Incorrect spelHng, however, interferes with social effi- 
ciency even if it is not so bad as to obscure the meaning. 
There seems to have grown up in English speaking coun- 
tries, at least, the notion that incorrect spelling is a true 
index of illiteracy. In other words, the one thing that 
any one who pretends to "education" must not do is to 
misspell common words. 

Grammar furnishes another instance of a value that is 
very largely conventional. While grammatical correctness is 
often essential to clarity of expression, it is not always so; 
yet expressions that are seriously ungrammatical mark one 
as illiterate even though clearness may not be increased in 
the slightest degree by the corresponding correct form. ^'I 
have went " is just as clear and unequivocal as, '' I have gone " ; 
"It is me" conveys the meaning just as effectively as, "It 
is I." And yet the person who habitually uses incorrect 
forms is tahoo socially. Nor is "socially" used here in its 
narrower connotation. A person's opinions are discounted 
and his judgments are often distrusted if he fails to conform 
to conventional demands. Consequently, one's efficiency is 
measurably lessened: at least, the same ability would work 
under a much slighter handicap if the conventional demands 
were fulfilled. 



THE RUBRICS OF FUNCTION AND VALUE 1 25 

There is scarcely a subject to be found in the curriculum 
of the elementary and secondary schools that does not possess 
at least a modicum of value from the conventional point of 
view. Society takes it for granted that every one shall know 
certain facts and principles of geography and history. The 
immediate efficiency of a given individual might not be seri- 
ously impaired even if he were ignorant of the fact that the 
earth is round or of the fact that Columbus discovered Amer- 
ica. Such an individual might contribute his share to the 
world's work without much difficulty. He might, in other 
words, adjust himself effectively to his physical environment. 
But his adjustment to his social environment would be seri- 
ously hampered by the mere fact of his ignorance, and this 
lack of social harmony would, in many cases, tend to decrease 
his economic efficiency. It becomes of paramount impor- 
tance, therefore, to reckon with conventional values and to 
take the steps that are necessary to reahze them. 

It may be that society is too prone to enlarge mole-hills 
into mountains in dealing with little matters of spelling and 
grammatical construction, and education can probably do 
much in the course of time to make pubHc opinion rather 
more rational upon this matter. And yet a social prejudice 
generally has back of it some basis of necessity. If a fair 
degree of proficiency in spelling and a fair degree of gram- 
matical precision in verbal expression are set up as indis- 
pensable quaUfications of an educated person, we may be 
tolerably certain that these things are fairly good indices of 
one's general mental capacity. This is not to say that one 
who has not had educational advantages is to be considered 
as mentally incompetent because of the errors that one may 
make in orthography and syntax. It is simply to say that, 
given the advantages, the average individual can, without 
serious difficulty, learn to comply with the standard set. 
The test is analogous to that which prescribes abihty to read 



126 EDUCATIONAL VALUES 

as an indispensable qualification for the admission of foreign 
immigrants. Reading may or may not be essential to the 
direct efficiency of such immigrants. Some who are unable to 
read might make very excellent citizens. And yet some 
standard is obviously necessary and the reading standard 
seems to be the most efficient in the long run. The same is 
true of the "spelling and grammar" standard which society 
sets as the minimal measure of efficiency for its schools. One 
can scarcely quarrel with it so far as it goes. The trouble is 
that in too many schools it becomes, not the minimal, but 
the maximal measure of efficiency. In other words, too many 
schools narrow their outlook to fit this tiny aperture. The 
aperture is central and fundamental, it is true, but it is none 
the less tiny. The part of wisdom seems to lie in recognizing 
the conventional values and realizing them as far as possible 
in connection with the realization of other more significant 
and vital values; but, when this is impossible, then solely 
for their own conventional sake and with the least expenditure 
of time and energy consistent with meeting the conventional 
requirements. 

10. The Socializing Value. It is in the socializing of 
the individual that the conduct-controls developed by 
general education have their greatest significance. Social 
efificiency, as has been pointed out, implies economic effi- 
ciency, but it also implies something far more comprehen- 
sive than the ability of the individual either directly or in- 
directly to provide for himself food, shelter, and clothing. 
It means more than that he should simply fulfill the con- 
ventional standards imposed by society upon all of its 
members. It implies fundamentally that he participate 
in the social conscience, and that he apply the dictates of 



THE RUBRICS OF FUNCTION AND VALUE 1 27 

that conscience to his own life as well as to the lives of his 
fellows. 

While the instructional and training functions are not 
unimportant from the point of view of the socializing 
values, it is here especially that the other functions come 
into their own. It will be the task of the following chap- 
ters to indicate especially the increments of social value 
that may be realized in fulfilling these various functions. 



CHAPTER IX 

Values to be Realized in Fulfilling the Training 
Functions 

I. If one analyzes the automatic adjustments made in 
the course of an average day, three large types of conduct 
are readily recognized. In the first place, there are the 
habitual responses of dressing, eating, walking, and talk- 
ing, which are common to all ; in the second place, there 
are the special habits of skill that constitute so large a part 
of one's waking Hfe, and which, obviously, are individual 
and technical in their character ; and, in the third place, 
there are the habitual adjustments which one makes dur- 
ing the leisure or nonworking periods of the waking day, 
which are also largely individual in character. 

Each element of these three types of conduct represents 
a certain form of training in the largest sense of the term, 
— represents, in other words, a learned as distinguished 
from an instinctive adjustment. And yet it is surprising, 
at first glance, to note how small a part the formal train- 
ing of the school has apparently played in the learning of 
these adjustments. Adjustments of the first type have 
been acquired largely through imitation and home in- 
struction; adjustments of the second type have been 
initiated during the early years of apprenticeship to one's 

128 



FULFILLING THE TRAINING FUNCTIONS 1 29 

trade or profession, and if any school has contributed 
significantly toward their acquisition, it is the professional 
school, the technical school, or the trade school, not the 
common school ; in adjustments of the third type, the in- 
fluences of general education may be much more readily 
recognized, although even here, there is a large residuum 
that must be attributed to the operation of nonscholastic 
factors. 

It would be fallacious to conclude, however, that gen- 
eral education fails entirely to influence life from this 
standpoint, although the very slightest investigation will 
reveal a much smaller degree of direct influence than is 
usually attributed to the formal work of the school. To 
approach the question from the other side, it may be 
profitable to examine the various subjects of school 
instruction and see what training functions tend to realize 
the different types of value discussed in the last chapter. 

2. (a) The Utilitarian Value. Of the training subjects 
of the elementary curriculum, there can be no doubt that 
those concerned with language are the most fundamental 
from the standpoint of utility in general education. A 
mastery of the commonly employed media of communica- 
tion is essential to economic efiiciency, and, in this case, 
effective mastery means automatic mastery. Oral speech 
is ineffective when attention must be divided by the 
speaker between thought and form. Written speech is 
uneconomical when the writer must make a similar trans- 
fer of attention. In fact, the utilitarian value that at- 
taches to the rules and principles of grammar lies mainly 



130 EDUCATIONAL VALUES 

in the initiation of habits. If actual expression were con- 
sciously to be governed by continual direct application of 
rule and principle, it is clear that the ejQ&ciency of expres- 
sion would be greatly curtailed. 

From the standpoint of direct utility, however, the 
mere matter of correctness of form cannot be allotted a 
maximum of value. Fluency and spontaneity of lan- 
guage are vastly more important than mere conventional 
correctness. Grammatical precision influences adjust- 
ment, it is true, but the controls that it establishes 
must be justified upon the conventional rather than 
upon the narrowly utilitarian basis. 

3. The habits that are involved in reading are, of 
course, fundamental from the point of view of direct 
application. The elaborate organization of social life 
makes the ability to translate printed and written sym- 
bols of words into their vocal equivalents absolutely 
essential to efhcient adjustment. To-day, even the 
laborer who cannot read is handicapped in his daily 
work. The directions that he must follow, the rules of 
his union, the advertisements that enable him to find 
the best market for his labor, — all of these factors are 
introducing formal educational qualifications into even 
the humblest of human occupations. 

As contrasted with the other phases of language training 
in the school, reading must be accorded supreme importance 
from the point of view of direct utility. The habits of oral 
expression, — which are the educative materials that have 
widest applicability in this connection, — can be, and usually 



FULFILLING THE TRAINING FUNCTIONS 131 

are, acquired with a fair degree of proficiency through in- 
formal education. To learn to read, however, requires sys- 
tematic instruction of a rather strenuous nature. It is prob- 
able that certain exceptional individuals would acquire the 
associations involved in the mechanics of reading without 
such training, as recent authorities ^ suggest ; but that this 
method can ever be depended upon for universal results is 
seriously to be doubted, no matter how constantly children 
may be brought into contact with an environment that 
emphasizes reading as a basic social process. 

4. The automatisms that are developed by the study 
of arithmetic have a high value from the point of view 
of utility. In an elaborately organized society, where 
labor is minutely differentiated and where the com- 
ponent social elements are thoroughly interdependent in 
respect of the necessities and luxuries of life, the measur- 
ing of commodities of all sorts and the computation of 
values in terms of a unit of common measure are ob- 
viously prime necessities. 

5. That the automatic adjustments involved in the 
mastery of music and drawing have a utilitarian value 
to the majority of pupils is seriously to be doubted. 
Drawing, it is clear, may have a contingent utility for 
pupils who enter certain specialized trades and profes- 
sions, but the average pupil seems to put to very slight 
use the skill that the drawing instruction of the ele- 
mentary school may be supposed to have given him. 
Closer correlation of drawing with manual training and 

1 For example, E. B. Huey : Psychology and Pedagogy of Reading, New 
York, 1908, p. 311. 



132 EDUCATIONAL VALUES 

with other forms of school work might lead the pupil 
more frequently to employ drawing as a means of ex- 
pression and communication.^ 

6. The adjustments that are made automatic in 
manual training in its various forms should find direct 
application in later economic life, and this value is not 
only large but also general in its nature. It is a value 
that is important to all who live the civilized life, for 
the ability to use the common tools of wood working 
and metal working is something the lack of which the 
average man will feel very quickly, whatever may be 
his vocation; and this becomes increasingly true as 
machinery comes to do more and more of the drudgery of 
everyday life. The utilitarian value is not the only, 
nor is it the leading, value of manual training, but it is 
a value that is perhaps important enough to justify the 
subject in the elementary and secondary curriculums, even 
if other values are not granted. 

It needs but the slightest reflection to appreciate the sig- 
nificance of this subject in the curriculum of the twentieth 
century. If there is one factor that dominates the civiliza- 
tion of to-day, it is the application of physical and chemical 
principles to the problem of generating, transmitting, trans- 
forming, and utilizing mechanical energy. The nineteenth 

^ In remarking upon the high average of intelligence among the rank 
and file of the Japanese army during the war with Russia, General Kuro- 
patkin mentions particularly their skill in drawing : " Many of them could 
draw maps skilfully, and one common soldier [a prisoner] was able to 
show accurately, by means of a plan sketched in the sand, the relative 
position of the Japanese forces and ours." — {McClure's Magazine, 1908, 
vol. xxxi, p. 649.) 



FULFILLING THE TRAINING FUNCTIONS 1 33 

century left us with a rich heritage of principles and devices 
by which the forces of nature may be controlled and directed 
toward the improvement of human hfe. It remains for the 
education of the twentieth century not only to transmit 
carefully these principles and the ideals that made them 
possible, but also to disseminate in as wide a circle as may 
seem profitable the habits of skill which are essential to the 
effective use of mechanical devices through which these 
principles and ideals affect the workaday Hfe. 

7. (b) Preparatory Value of Habits. The language- 
habits, and especially those connected with reading, are 
of obvious significance from the preparatory point of 
view. To teach the child to read and write is to put 
him in command of the implements through which a 
large part of his later education is obtained. To insure 
the immediate association of ideas with written and 
printed symbols is one of the most important tasks that 
the elementary school has to perform. 

8. The number arts possess a smaller measure of 
preparatory value, although by no means an unim- 
portant measure. The efificiency of the quantitative 
work in the sciences depends more fundamentally upon 
the elementary number arts than upon the mastery of 
the more advanced mathematical subjects. The pre- 
paratory value is not large enough, however, to over- 
shadow the utilitarian value of elementary arithmetic. 

9. The skill that is represented by the ability to draw 
is more important from the preparatory than from the 
utilitarian point of view. The use to which this skill 
may be put in clarifying the pupil's conceptions of the 



134 EDUCATIONAL VALUES 

objective sciences is recognized by the teachers of these 
sciences. One may well believe that there should be, 
in the teaching of drawing in the lower schools, a more 
explicit recognition of this preparatory value. 

10. Manual training, Hke drawing, may be made to 
possess a goodly measure of preparatory value in general 
education. Aside from the contingent value that it has 
for the pupil who is to enter one of the engineering pro- 
fessions, the ability to manipulate tools and materials 
efficiently will be of service in the study of the physical 
sciences, and in the constructive activities which, like 
drawing, serve admirably to clarify one's conceptions in 
various other subjects. Again, what is needed is a more 
explicit recognition of this value and an attempt to 
utilize in other subjects the skill which the teacher of 
manual training has gone to such pains to develop in his 
pupils. 

11. The training subjects of the secondary curric- 
ulum are chiefly English composition, the elementary 
stages of foreign language study, and certain stages in 
the mastery of secondary mathematics. While the 
habit-forming activities in the composition and mathe- 
matics classes can probably be more equitably justified 
upon another basis, the drill in early language study is 
primarily preparatory in its value. This means, of 
course, that the ultimate justification must be sought 
in the value of the subjects for which it prepares. There 
is good reason to believe that much of this work does 
not lead, with the average pupil, to that appreciation 



FULFILLING THE TRAINING FUNCTIONS I35 

of the literatures of foreign language which would be 
the most obvious source of value. In the case of Latin, 
as will be pointed out later, contemporary opinion seems 
to lean toward identifying secondary Latin with Eng- 
lish composition in so far as its value is concerned. 
That is, the justification for Latin in the high schools 
and as a subject of general education is largely to be 
found in the practice in English composition which the 
work of the Latin classes involves. 

12. (c) The Conventional Value of Habits. The im- 
portance of forming the conventional habits of language, 
particularly with reference to spelling and grammatical 
correctness, was referred to in the last chapter. In 
addition to these obvious conventional requirements, a 
group of habits equally important from the conventional 
point of view is represented by what is termed "eti- 
quette" or good manners. The precedence which is 
accorded to old age and to womanhood could have no 
justification from the point of view of pure utiHty. When 
I stand aside to let a lady or an older man precede me 
through a doorway, I do not do it because the person 
in question could not get through just as effectively if I 
went first. My standing aside is a conventional adjust- 
ment sanctioned by society as a mark of respect. 

But there is a vast difference between the conven- 
tions of etiquette and the conventions of language. It 
is true that the former, like the latter, indirectly in- 
fluence one's social and economic efficiency, since failure 
to comply with conventional custom would seriously 



136 EDUCATIONAL VALUES 

influence the attitude that others take toward one. 
But the adjustments of good etiquette have another and 
a more fundamental sanction. They crystallize the 
ideals of social behavior that the race has accumulated 
and sifted through its long experience. Respect for old 
age and respect for womanhood are ideals or prejudices 
which constitute a most important part of our social 
heritage. One sometimes thinks of these as purely 
formal requirements ; as a matter of fact, the attitudes 
and ideals that they express are among the most precious 
parts of the race inheritance; they have cost pain and 
struggle and suffering; they are conquests, even as the 
great scientific principles, even as the most inspiring 
creations of art, are conquests. 

13. {d) The Socializing Value of Habits. The con- 
ventional value of the habits of etiquette and gentle 
manners really represents sociaHzing values. Much 
more important in this immediate connection, however, 
are the numberless little habits that are termed ''moral." 
These include the various automatic responses that may 
be summed up under the general heads of cleanliness, 
honesty, regard for the rights and feelings of others, 
obedience to law and to constituted authority, and the 
like. The specific adjustments representing these vir- 
tues must be made thoroughly automatic early in child- 
hood if the virtues themselves are later to be general- 
ized as ideals and prejudices. It is in connection with 
ideals and prejudices, however, that these virtues may 
be most profitably discussed, hence we may leave them 



FULFILLING THE TRAINING FUNCTIONS 137 

for the present with the understanding that the effective 
generahzation of the virtues depends primarily upon the 
thoroughly automatic character of the specific responses 
that represent them. 

14. The work of habit-building must always be 
accorded the most important place in elementary edu- 
cation. That habits formed in the school may not 
function in the situations of later life is clearly apparent. 
That training may not "spread" beyond the limits of 
the specific function trained suggests the advisability of 
limiting the strenuous processes of habit-building (i) to 
those automatic responses that will be of unquestioned 
service, and (2) to those responses that may serve as 
concrete bases for the later development of concepts and 
ideals of conduct. 

There are certain respects in which reaction ought, 
from the earliest possible moment, to be thoroughly 
automatic and mechanical. It is to the formation of 
these specific habits that elementary education especially 
must direct its energies. The fault of American schools 
to-day lies, not in the mechanical grind that they are 
popularly supposed to represent, but in the inadequacy 
of the really small measure of drill work that is attempted. 
It is here that American schools are weak as compared 
with the schools of foreign countries, and notably those 
of Germany. In the basic training which must stand 
as the foundation of all future advancement, the progress 
that is made year to year in American common schools 
is discouragingly small. 



138 EDUCATIONAL VALUES 

The cause of this condition is probably to be sought in the 
material prosperity of America during the last three decades. 
The relaxation from the strain and effort that characterized 
the life of an earlier period has found one expression in the 
demand for shortened hours and less "drill," less strain, and 
less insistence upon adequate habit-building in school work. 
The public protests against anything approaching the rigor 
of German common-school methods, and yet America must 
either adopt methods of training that are equally effective, 
or consent to take second rank in both industrial and cul- 
tural achievement. In education as in all other departments 
of life, you cannot make bricks without straw; and among 
nations as among individuals, success and preeminence can 
be attained only by those that are willing to "pay the price." 



CHAPTER X 

Values to be Realized in Fulfilling the Instruc- 
tional Functions 

1. (a) Utilitarian Values of Ideas, Facts, and Princi- 
ples. If the elementary and secondary curriculums are 
examined with reference to the economic value of the 
facts and principles that they comprise, a condition is 
revealed that is somewhat similar to that discovered in 
connection with habit. Certain ideas, facts, and prin- 
ciples are directly applied to life-situations by a majority 
of the pupils undergoing school instruction; but these 
are comparatively few in number, when considered in 
relation to the range of subject-matter taught. 

2. The instructional subject of greatest utility in the 
elementary curriculum is doubtless arithmetic. The 
pupil who has mastered the principles of percentage, 
for instance, is enabled to meet adequately certain situa- 
tions in life that might otherwise baffle him. The em- 
phasis here is, of course, upon the word ^'principles," 
and we are speaking of the conscious application of such 
principles through a judgment-process. The so-called 
"facts" of arithmetic, as was indicated in the last chap- 
ter, are very largely automatisms, the operation of which 
requires a minimum of judgment ; in fact, they operate 
the more effectively the less judgment is involved. 

139 



I40 EDUCATIONAL VALUES 

3. Upon the side of language-instruction, it has 
already been pointed out that many of the materials 
employed function mainly through the medium of habit. 
There are some grammatical and rhetorical principles, 
however, that undoubtedly help one in expression. 
Grammatical expression, generally speaking, is efficient 
expression, — efficient in that it conveys meanings 
effectively. But the number of grammatical principles 
that are thus consciously applied is probably compara- 
tively small, — for the average educated man (speaking 
English) perhaps not more than eight or ten. 

4. The subject of geography seems to present a 
similar paucity of economically usable facts and prin- 
ciples. If the average man should enumerate the occa- 
sions upon which he applies geographical knowledge 
(beyond the few simple facts which he would easily 
gain without formal instruction) he would be surprised 
to find how small a part geography plays in his worka- 
day life. When he travels, or when business interests 
lead him to deal with remote sections of the country, 
he may find himself recalling map images, or stim- 
ulating his memory for place and location data. 
But under ordinary conditions, as far as direct appli- 
cation is concerned, there is very little that he really 
needs. 

5. The situation with regard to history is similar to 
that with regard to geography, — perhaps even more 
marked with reference to the narrow field in which facts 
may be applied to economic situations by the average 



FULFILLING THE INSTRUCTIONAL FUNCTIONS 141 

individual. Spencer/ it is true, maintained that the 
study of history ought to be especially valuable from 
this point of view. He criticized severely the customary 
methods of teaching history on the ground that they 
failed to establish ''principles of conduct, which is the 
chief use of facts." He contended that historical facts, 
as presented in the schools of his time, were not made 
the basis for inducing such principles. ''Read them, 
if you hke, for amusement," he suggests, "but do not flat- 
ter yourself that they are instructive." 

Although historical teaching has been greatly improved 
since Spencer wrote his Essays in Education, it can hardly 
be maintained that the improvement has followed the 
line suggested by his criticism. The materials of history, 
as history is taught in the elementary and secondary 
schools to-day, have very little direct value in yielding 
generalizations that may be consciously applied to the 
solution of economic problems. There are, it is true, a 
few great, universal truths that may safely be drawn from 
historical data, but there are few authorities upon the 
teaching of history who maintain that the development 
of these few truths constitutes the chief value of the study. 
Indeed, the authorities are practically agreed that it 
would be unwise to attempt the teaching of history from 
this point of view. 

For example, Langlois and Seignobos ^ strongly emphasize 
this point : "It is an illusion to suppose that history supplies 

* Spencer: Education, New York, 1895 (Appleton's ed.), pp. 64 ff. 
2 Introduction to the Study of History, pp. 319 f. 



142 EDUCATIONAL VALUES 

information of practical utility in the conduct of life, lessons 
directly profitable to individuals and peoples ; the conditions 
under which human actions are performed are rarely suffi- 
ciently similar at two different moments for the 'lessons of 
history* to be directly applicable. ... It has an indirect 
utihty." 

Froude ^ also expresses himself very skeptically with regard 
to the utilitarian value of history. "It often seems to me 
as if history was like a child's box of letters with which we 
can spell any word that we please. We have only to pick 
out such letters as we want, arrange them as we Uke, and say 
nothing about those that do not suit our purpose." 

Logic warns us that an inference from analogy is always 
likely to be misleading unless one is certain that conditions are 
identical in the two cases. One might, for example, main- 
tain that the history of Rome is a warning against our pres- 
ent tendency toward luxury and extravagance. Luxury and 
extravagance, it may be urged, caused the downfall of Rome ; 
consequently, let us look well to the same symptoms in our 
national Hfe to-day. The danger may be real enough, but 
the analogy alone does not prove it. In Rome extravagance 
and luxury were founded upon the institution of slavery, 
slavery begets idleness, and it is idleness that enervates. 
But the luxury of modern life is founded not upon slavery, but 
upon strenuous achievement. With all of our prosperity, 
there has been no visible tendency toward idleness. Thus 
what seems to be a prime controlling condition in Roman 
degeneration does not exist in any appreciable measure in 
the situation that now confronts us. 

Again, one might infer from the facts of EngUsh history 
that the policy of free trade, which has unquestionably pro- 
moted the commercial prestige of England, would similarly 

* J. A. Froude : The Science of History y p. 66. 



FULFILLING THE INSTRUCTIONAL FUNCTIONS 1 43 

advance the commercial prestige of any other country. But 
one's opponent could easily point to the commercial progress 
that Germany has made in a much shorter period under 
a pohcy of high protection. This does not mean that free 
trade is either good or bad from an economic standpoint. 
It simply means that one is unable to draw final conclusions 
from historical data. 

It is not to be inferred from what has been said that a 
knowledge of history has no place in education for citi- 
zenship. Some historical knowledge does influence 
political development, and influences it profoundly. 
But the transition from theory to practice is not through 
a direct channel, — is not a matter of direct application of 
principles and generalizations to existing situations. 

6. In Spencer's arrangement of the subjects of in- 
struction, following what he considers to be the order of 
their importance, physiology stands first.^ "We assert," 
he says, "that such a course of physiology as is needful 
for the comprehension of its general truths and their 
bearings on daily conduct, is an all-essential part of a 
rational education." Certainly one might assume that, 
if any knowledge imparted by the schools should be 
frequently applied by all who receive the school's in- 
struction, it is the knowledge of physiological principles, 
especially the knowledge of those principles that are 
primarily concerned with the preservation of health. 
And yet the fatuity of most of the instruction in physiol- 
ogy and hygiene is a by-word among educators. Recent 

* Spencer, op. cit., p. 43. 



144 EDUCATIONAL VALUES 

improvements in the methods of teaching, and especially 
in the content, have done something toward the reaHza- 
tion of Spencer's ideal, but the most important results 
have been gained either in the field of specific habit- 
building, or in connection with the social rather than with 
the purely utihtarian values. 

One of the most noteworthy attempts to effect a change 
in human conduct through the direct inculcation of facts 
and principles is represented by the almost universal require- 
ment of "temperance physiology" in American schools. 
The failure of "temperance physiology" to work temperance 
reform is one of the most damaging evidences against the 
efiiciency of didactic methods of instruction. Men can be 
made to see the effects of intemperance in a way that will 
influence their conduct. John B. Gough and other temper- 
ance reformers certainly knew the secret. The agitation of 
the past few years in the South and Middle West has been 
startlingly efiicient. What is the difference between these 
successful movements and the miserable failure of "temper- 
ance physiology" in the schools? It will be the problem of 
a later chapter to seek an answer to this question. 

7. In the other instructional subjects commonly 
taught in the elementary school curriculum, there seems 
to be scarcely a trace of direct utilitarian value, in so far 
as the immediate application of facts and principles is 
concerned. Music, drawing, and manual training are 
(as now taught) primarily habit-building subjects. 
Nature study in rural schools, where it can be closely 
related to practical problems in agriculture, may be 
made to have a direct value ; as taught in the majority 



FULFILLING THE INSTRUCTIONAL FUNCTIONS 145 

of schools, however, its value, whatever it may be, is 
certainly not of this type. 

8. On the whole, then, the subject-matter of the con- 
temporary elementary curriculum, in so far as it lays 
the foundations for the application of facts and principles 
through judgment processes, cannot be said to possess 
direct utilitarian value in marked degree. Aside from a 
relatively few important principles of arithmetic and 
formal grammar, and the very simplest facts of geography, 
the only subject that is distinctly utilitarian in its nature 
is physiology, and in this, as we have seen, the direct 
value is very infrequently realized. 

9. With regard to the secondary curriculum, the situa- 
tion is more complicated. The subjects of instruction 
are more numerous, there is a differentiation of courses 
that prevents all pupils from undergoing the same in- 
struction, and, under the present organization of second- 
ary schools, there are many subjects which are technical 
and vocational in their character and which, consequently, 
possess a large measure of utilitarian value. Aside from 
the latter courses, however, it would seem that direct 
appHcability is quite as rare a characteristic of the facts 
and principles composing the secondary curriculum as it 
is of the elementary subjects. 

10. The teaching of the mother- tongue in the high 
school commonly includes rhetoric, composition, and 
Hterature. The science of rhetoric attempts to develop 
principles that may be directly apphed in improving the 
efficiency of expression ; consequently, this subject may 



146 EDUCATIONAL VALUES 

be said to possess utilitarian value. Composition aims 
at fixing habits, and its materials are, therefore, not to be 
included in our present discussion. Literature is not 
taught for the purpose of impressing facts and principles, 
and is likewise excluded from present consideration. 

11. The teaching of modern foreign languages is im- 
portant from the utilitarian standpoint in England and 
especially upon the continent. In the United States the 
practical advantage of a speaking mastery of an alien 
tongue is not great. For some students, a reading mas- 
tery would be extremely valuable, and yet, if the teaching 
of modern languages is justified solely by this factor, it 
can safely be said that a vast amount of time and energy 
and money is being expended for a very slight return. 
It is very rare for university instructors to assign reading 
in French or German, even to advanced undergraduate 
classes, although practically every member of such classes 
has had at least two years of instruction in one or the 
other of these languages. It would be interesting to 
determine how much reading in foreign languages 
will be done during the next five years by the students 
who receive baccalaureate degrees at the next com- 
mencement from the typical American universities. If 
this is true of the modern languages, it is scarcely prob- 
able that the ancient languages can establish a claim to a 
direct function, except through the practice that they 
involve in English composition. 

12. Secondary mathematics has an obvious contingent 
value to a proportion of its students, — for those, namely, 



FULFILLING THE INSTRUCTIONAL FUNCTIONS 147 

who will have need to apply the facts and principles 
gained to the various branches of engineering. The 
average secondary pupil, however, will, in all probabil- 
ity, never use the specific knowledge of algebra, geometry, 
and trigonometry after he has left the school. New and 
improved organization of secondary sciences may per- 
haps make it possible to turn much of the mathematical 
proficiency developed in algebra and geometry classes 
to the solution of everyday economic problems arising 
in the life of the average individual, but so effective a 
correlation is not to be found in the high schools of to-day. 
13. At first thought, secondary science would seem to 
be a most favorable field for the realization of direct 
economic values. The problem of science is to reduce 
the phenomena of the world about us and within us to 
the operation of law, — to bring the forces that consti- 
tute our environment imder the control of comprehensive 
principles. What is more natural than to assume that a 
mastery of these principles would enable one to adjust 
oneself to these forces more effectively than would 
otherwise be possible? One must deal constantly with 
physical forces, whatever be the type of life that one 
leads, — and yet how many men and women who have 
completed courses in secondary physics ever apply the 
principles that have been gained to the conduct of their 
affairs ? For the average man, the adjustments which in- 
volve an acquaintance with physical principles are made 
on the basis, not of principles gained in formal study, 
but of those which are either derived empirically from 



148 EDUCATIONAL VALUES 

experience, or gained through imitation. For all ordi- 
nary purposes the empirical or imitative acquaintance 
with the lever, the wheel, the pump, and the other de- 
vices that illustrate physical principles seems to be quite 
suflScient. Similarly with the other sciences. One 
learns empirically the phenomena of combustion, fer- 
mentation, and the like, without reference to their under- 
lying chemical principles. One may plant seeds, and 
grow crops, and reap harvests, with obvious success, 
without understanding the biology of the processes. So 
far as the influence of scientific knowledge upon such 
adjustments is concerned, it has been, under the prevail- 
ing methods of teaching secondary science, practically 
nil. Aside from Spencer, indeed, very few of the author- 
ities who have discussed the values of secondary science 
have emphasized direct utility as a leading aim.^ 

There is, at the present time, however, a marked tend- 
ency so to reorganize the scientific work of the high 
schools that a direct utilitarian value will be more fre- 
quently realized. The introduction of specialized courses 
in agriculture, mechanics, and household science cannot 
fail to have a reflex influence upon the teaching of the 
basic sciences, emphasizing their practical phases, show- 
ing at every point the large improvement and economy 
that come from a rational rather than from an empirical 
procedure, and, above all, giving the pupils actual prac- 

1 Cf. Huxley : Science and Education (Appleton's ed., 1899), pp. 38-65, 
134-159; Lloyd and Bigelow: The Teaching oS Biology^ New York, 
1907, Pt. I, ch. iii, Pt. II, ch. i. 



FULFILLING THE INSTRUCTIONAL FUNCTIONS 1 49 

tice in the application of principles to everyday problems. 
As will be pointed out in a later chapter, there are good 
reasons for predicting that the secondary sciences of the 
near future will be quite different in organization and 
content from what they are to-day, and that, in this 
readjustment, the ends of utility will secure a more 
effective recognition. 

This does not mean, however, that the utilitarian value 
will come to be considered the exclusive or even the domi- 
nant value of secondary science. It means rather that 
the potential applicability of the sciences will be brought 
into function just as far as it is possible to fulfill this end 
without interfering with the realization of the more 
important values. 

14. The non-vocational subjects of the secondary 
curriculum, — history and civics, — may be dismissed 
briefly. The utilitarian value of history has already 
been found to be slight. Civics, on the other hand, is 
commonly justified solely upon the basis of its utiHty 
in actual adjustment; but this justification depends 
upon the socializing value of civics rather than upon the 
direct economic value. 

15. This brief review can scarcely fail to impress one 
with the very slight direct economic value of the great 
mass of facts and principles that are taught in the ele- 
mentary and secondary schools. It would be folly to 
conclude that these materials are devoid of value; but 
their value, whatever it may be, must be sought in another 
source. In view, however, of the admitted paucity of 



150 EDUCATIONAL VALUES 

directly applicable facts and principles in the curriculum, 
the following propositions may be laid down as possible 
guides to practice. 

(a) If the facts and principles that are applied directly 
to the economic situations of Hfe are gained principally 
either through the forces of informal education, or through 
the type of formal education that we term vocational or 
technical, it is extremely likely that these facts and prin- 
ciples are highly specialized. Consequently, any attempt 
to limit the curriculum of general education to those 
subjects possessing indisputable utility will result in 
giving to many individuals specialized knowledge for 
which they will have no practical use, while, at the same 
time, such individuals will miss those values, not utili- 
tarian, but none the less important, which may be realized 
by a curriculum of another sort. 

(b) General education, however, has another duty with 
regard to direct economic values in addition to imparting 
those facts and principles that will be applied by all of 
its pupils. Although education for utility must be largely 
specific, general education can influence specialized 
efficiency in three ways : (i) it may train pupils in the 
art of finding the specific facts and principles that may be 
of value in solving the problems of their lives ; (2) it may 
train pupils in the art of mastering such facts and prin- 
ciples once they have been found ; and (3) it may train 
them in the art of applying such facts and principles once 
they have been mastered. In other words, general edu- 
cation should teach pupils how to use books and other 



FULFILLING THE INSTRUCTIONAL FUNCTIONS 151 

sources of information ; how to study ; and how to apply. 
If it concentrates upon these problems, making use of 
every possible means of impressing useful knowledge 
without forgetting that most utilitarian information is 
very specij&c in its character, it will do vastly more to 
enhance the utilitarian values than by loading its curric- 
ulum with materials that have either a temporary appli- 
cability or an applicability that is limited to compara- 
tively few individuals. 

16. (b) The Conventional Value of Knowledge. Very few 
facts, principles, and meanings are exclusively conven- 
tional in their value. Certain groups of principles, such 
as those forming the subject-matter of formal grammar, 
may be justified because it is expected that they will 
ultimately work over into habits which are important 
chiefly from the conventional point of view. The facts 
of geography and history have also a large measure of 
conventional importance, but there are comparatively 
few conventionally-important facts relating to these 
subjects that cannot be included in the realization of 
other and more important values. Certain facts usually 
acquired in the study of literature (dates and places of 
birth of authors, names of important books and charac- 
ters) have a goodly measure of conventional value ; but 
these facts may also be made to realize other values; 
hence the fulfillment of the conventional demands be- 
comes only an incident and not an explicit aim in their 
acquisition. The conventional value of mathematics, 
beyond the merest rudiments, is admittedly slight. 



152 EDUCATIONAL VALUES 

17. (c) The Preparatory Value of Knowledge. This 
rubric is very much more important. The development 
of concepts or meanings in the elementary stages of 
teaching any subject is obviously justified very largely 
because of the preparatory value of these concepts. 
Thus in all of the content subjects of the elementary 
curriculum, the question of preparing for later study is of 
paramount importance. The development of adequate 
meanings makes possible the short-circuiting of the later 
educative processes, — makes possible what may be 
aptly termed "vicarious experience." Instruction 
through language is the most effective and economical 
method of transmitting race-experience, — provided, of 
course, that the words which language employs actually 
work back into the experience of the individual. Unless 
this precaution is taken, such instruction is worse than 
useless.^ A very important part of the teacher's function 
in the elementary stages of instruction, then, is to seek 
out these fundamental concepts that the subject employs 
and, by bringing them down to the level of actual expe- 
rience, gradually to develop the meanings which con- 
structive thinking and vicarious experience will later 
employ. 

18. {d) The Socializing Valtie of Knowledge. This 
has been so adequately treated by Ruediger ^ that an 
extended discussion would be superfluous in this place. 
The educative materials that have fundamental impor- 
tance from the social point of view are obviously ideals and 

1 Cf. Chapter IIL 2 cf. Ruediger, op. cit., pp. 127 ff. 



FULFILLING THE INSTRUCTIONAL FUNCTIONS 1 53 

prejudices. But, as was shown in Chapter IV, ideals 
and prejudices function predominantly in supplying aims 
and purposes. Guides to the realization of these purposes 
must be furnished by knowledge and it is in this connec- 
tion that the socializing value of knowledge is of funda- 
mental importance. 

The distinction that has been made between knowledge 
and ideals is nowhere more clearly apparent than in this 
connection. One might acquire information regarding civic 
organization, social hygiene, good government, and a host of 
other socially important topics, but unless one were inspired 
with powerful sociaHzing ideals, the knowledge would be 
a luxury without a purpose. Similarly, one might be pos- 
sessed of the strongest social motives, and still be unable to 
realize one's aims because one lacked the facts and principles 
that must be interpolated as means to ends. The failure 
of mere knowledge to work social reforms is too obvious to 
need discussion. The failure of unintelligent enthusiasm 
has been painfully apparent in connection with the well- 
meaning but often futile attempts that have been made to 
eHminate the undesirable conditions represented by poht- 
ical corruption, child labor, the miscarriage of justice, and 
the social evil. 

There is no subject of instruction in either the ele- 
mentary or the secondary curriculum as at present con- 
stituted that cannot be made to realize a rich socializing 
value. Geography may develop the laws that govern the 
distribution of population, the growth of cities, the sources 
of the supply of economic necessities ; it may make the 
pupils acquainted with the conditions under which the 
people of other countries live and work ; it may lay down 



154 EDUCATIONAL VALUES 

the fundamental principles governing commerce, agri- 
culture, and other industries. These principles may be 
quite without value in the narrowly economic adjust- 
ments of the pupil's later life ; it will depend upon the 
presence or absence of social ideals whether the process 
of instruction will repay the time and the effort which it 
involves. The facts of history will probably find a more 
equitable justification in connection with the interpre- 
tive function, but in so far as fundamental principles of 
social life may be drawn from historical data, their social- 
izing value may be richly realized. But again the realiza- 
tion of this value depends upon the effective functioning 
of the socializing ideals. 

Physiology and hygiene find their most important 
justification under tliis rubric. Cleanliness and health 
are of economic importance to every individual, but this 
importance is quite overshadowed by their social sig- 
nificance. 

In connection with the study of arithmetic, there is an 
important socializing value that has not hitherto been 
sufficiently realized. The chapters of commercial arith- 
metic that give the pupil an acquaintance with such com- 
mercial activities as banking, insurance, taxes, stocks 
and bonds, partnerships, corporations, and the like, are 
vastly more important from the socializing point of view 
than merely from the narrowly utilitarian aspect. The 
recent tendency to eliminate many of the chapters of 
elementary arithmetic has been dictated by a short- 
sighted policy. Because the principles treated in these 



FULFILLING THE INSTRUCTIONAL FUNCTIONS 1 55 

chapters are of questionable direct utility to the average 
pupil, it has been assumed that they possess no value. 
This point will be referred to under the discussion of the 
interpretive functions. 

19. In spite of the wealth of socializing materials in the 
present elementary and secondary curriculum, there is a 
need for changes that will still more strongly emphasize 
this factor. The study of agriculture, for example, is 
primarily significant because of its socializing value. 
The principle of conservation lies at the very root of social 
welfare, and this principle can be nowhere more effec- 
tively developed than in connection with agriculture. 
From this point of view, the inhabitant of the city, as 
well as the farmer, needs a knowledge of agriculture. 
The present emphasis upon the importance of utilizing 
the educative materials of the child's immediate environ- 
ment is dictated very largely by economic rather than 
by social considerations, but even here the clearest 
justification of such a policy is social. So long as this 
emphasis does not tend to create sectionalism or in any 
way to unfit the individual to adapt himself to a changed 
environment (and this danger is very slight) the move- 
ment is an important step in the right direction. 



CHAPTER XI 

Values to be Realized in Fulfilling the Inspira- 
tional Functions 

I. In discussing the remaining functions of educative 
materials, the emphasis will be very largely upon the 
socializing values that the fulfillment of these functions 
may realize. This is not to imply that these functions 
are unimportant from the point of view of the utilitarian 
and preparatory values. Aims, motives, prejudices, 
tastes, attitudes, and perspectives certainly influence 
profoundly one's economic adjustments, and certainly 
influence profoundly one's acquisition of other subjects. 
But it is in connection with their socializing values that 
the subjects now to be discussed must make their chief 
appeal for recognition in the curriculum of general public 
education. 

In view of the fact that the inspirational and instruc- 
tional functions have not hitherto been explicitly differ- 
entiated in the educative process, the present chapter 
will attempt a rather more detailed analysis of the in- 
spirational function, as such, than was attempted in 
connection with the training ^nd instructional functions. 
This will, in a measure, amplify the more cursory treat- 
ment of ideals which was presented in Chapter IV. 

156 



FULFILLmG THE INSPIRATIONAL FUNCTIONS 1 57 

2. It will be remembered that an ideal or an emotional- 
ized standard was defined as an idea which was highly 
emotionalized. In essence, it is an idea that controls 
conduct in virtue of its emotional ^'warmth" rather than 
in virtue of its intellectual clearness, or in virtue of the 
accuracy with which it mirrors some environmental 
condition. 

The distinction is difficult to define in accurate terms, 
but it is clear enough from the practical standpoint. A 
man may know or believe, as a matter of intellectual judg- 
ment, that civic purity, for example, is essential to the 
highest type of civic life ; but even with fraud and cor- 
ruption rife in the local politics of his community, he 
may not make the sHghtest effort toward remedying 
conditions ; in other words, the intellectual belief is not 
sufficient in itself to spur him to action. Suppose, how- 
ever, that civic corruption menaces some fundamental 
interest of his life, — threatens to destroy his business, 
or reduce the value of his real estate, or invade his home ; 
immediately his idea of its evil character becomes a strong 
positive ideal in favor of civic virtue which incites him 
to effort toward its realization. The emotional force 
engendered by the stimulation of a fundamental instinct 
(in this case some form of the instinct of self-preservation) 
has gathered about the idea and turned it into a definite, 
dynamic standard, — a positive prejudice in favor of a 
virtue, the rationafity of which he has always admitted.^ 

* "Compare the purely intellectual, parrot-like belief of the citizens 
of any French town with the faith of a Dominican monk. The latter, 



158 EDUCATIONAL VALUES 

One of the best examples of this vitalizing of an idea is 
to be seen in the temperance movement, especially in the 
South. Through a combination and summation of circum- 
stances reveahng very clearly the menace to business inter- 
ests, to the welfare of the home, and even to life itself which 
is involved in the wide extension of the saloon influences, 
a very forcible prejudice in favor of prohibition has grown up. 
This has been increased by many other factors, of course, 
but there is little doubt that its effective appeal came first 
through the stimulation of certain fundamental instincts 
and the emotional effects which followed. 

3. An ideal or a prejudicial attitude may be engen- 
dered through forces of different types, but this vitalizing 
emotional element is always the essential ingredient. 
Self-interest is probably the most effective source of such 
standards, because self-interest is only another expression 
for the most fundamental and basic of all instincts, and 
enery emotion must haw its instinctive core. That the 
more refined and etherealized ideals may influence con- 

because he feels a religious truth, is able to sacrifice himself utterly, de- 
prive himself of everything that the world holds dear, accept poverty 
and humiliation, and lead a severe, hard life. The citizen whose belief 
is merely intellectual goes to mass, but feels no sense of repugnance at 
his egregious selfishness. He is rich, but he works a poor servant piti- 
lessly hard, and gives her scarcely enough to eat while demanding the 
utmost of her service. 

"Compare the lightly uttered socialistic opinions uttered by a demagog, 
who denies himself no pleasure and spares no expense to gratify his van- 
ity, with the socialism felt by a Tolstoi who, though possessed of every 
gift, — noble birth, fortune, and genius, — yet lives the life of a Russian 
peasant. 

"... Ideas by themselves do not constitute a force . . . they are 
obliged to borrow from feelings the force which they lack." — J. Payot : 
The Education of the Will, trans. S. E. Jelliffe, New York, 1909, pp. 62 f . 



FULFILLING THE INSPIRATIONAL FUNCTIONS 1 59 

duct profoundly, there can be no doubt ; but that their 
operation is comparatively rare as compared with the 
more primitive standards, is equally clear. 

4. Next to the individualistic instincts as effective 
agencies in forming ideals, are to be ranked the sex- 
instincts and the parental instincts. Ideas vitalized 
by these fundamental feelings are directive over conduct 
in a most imperious manner. Such words as fidelity, 
honor, chastity, self-sacrifice, and the like, are packed 
with content which it is difficult to formulate in definitions 
for the very reason that definitions express intellectual 
analyses ; the meaning of these words is bound up very 
largely in affective or emotional factors. Nevertheless, 
they have an intellectual content. One knows that con- 
jugal fidelity means a certain control of conduct ; one 
is perhaps ready to admit, from the purely intellectual 
point of view, the necessity of conjugal fidelity to the 
integrity of the home, and the necessity of the home to 
civilized life ; but one might know these things and still 
fail to idealize fidelity. The effective ideal, again, must 
have back of it a powerful feeling. 

The instinctive core of sympathy that runs through the 
higher types of social ideals is probably closely related to 
the sex and parental instincts. It is clear, at least, that 
such ideals do not function freely prior to adolescence, 
although the sporadic instances of impulsive sympathy 
in even very young children would prevent one from iden- 
tifying the sympathetic instinct completely with the sex 
and parental instincts. 



l60 EDUCATIONAL VALUES 

This, however, does not prevent us from raising the 
question. What are the ingredients of effective social 
ideals from the standpoint of the intellectual elements 
involved? Given the necessary instinctive basis for 
patriotism (whatever that basis may be) the important 
thing for education is to know how the ideal of any spe- 
cific sort of patriotism can be developed. 

5. The more general instincts of curiosity, play, and 
imitation (the ''adaptive" instincts) lie at the basis of 
ideals that possess fundamental social value. It is a 
proverb that curiosity is the root of all knowledge. 
Another way of formulating the same truth is to say that 
the impulse of curiosity grows into the love for investi- 
gation — the "passion for truth." The influence of this 
ideal is clearly seen in the work of the great scientists. 
Again it is hard to determine how much of its force is 
due to the strength of the original impulse, and how 
much is due to the modifying influence of instruction 
and training. Certain it is that some men are ''born" 
investigators, and that no accidental circumstancing of 
environments could keep them from following in one 
field or another the career of investigation. But while 
these may be the greatest investigators, it does not 
follow that education and training may not make effi- 
cient investigators out of those who have but a moderate 
capital of inherited inquisitiveness. 

6. The instinct of play unquestionably lies at the basis 
of the ideals of sportsmanship which have no unimportant 
function in the scheme of civilized life. Here, too, the 



FULFILLING THE INSPIRATIONAL FUNCTIONS l6l 

Strength of the instinct may vary. Some men have it in 
only a weakened form ; with others it seems to be quite 
satisfied with the pastimes of childhood ; but there still 
remain a large majority who carry play in one or more of 
its idealized forms over into adult life. 

The transition from play instincts to play ideals illustrates 
in a t3^ical manner what is probably the genesis of all ideals. 
The play impulse, as seen in its instinctive form in early 
childhood, expresses itself in the making of certain adjust- 
ments that have been useful in the history of the race (the 
fighting adjustments, the hunting adjustments, the hiding 
adjustments, etc.) without consciousness of their purpose, 
and for no other end than the gratification of the impulse as 
felt. It is clear that an instinct impelling the child to make 
such adjustments would be extremely valuable in preparing 
the individual for fife under primitive conditions. It was in 
this vicarious fashion that the child was in part trained for 
the essential pursuits of adult hfe. With the passing of 
primitive conditions, the pressing need for this training has 
been greatly diminished, but the instincts still persist, and 
demand, generation after generation, the same form of grati- 
fication. CiviHzed life, however, finds that they still sub- 
serve an important social purpose : they impel the individual 
to vigorous exercises on the one hand and to recreative re- 
laxation upon the other, and these factors do much to coun- 
teract the unhealthful tendencies of the indoor life and the 
sustained concentration demanded by civilization. But 
with a perception of this end, the acti\dty loses, of course, 
its instinctive and spontaneous character. An intellectual ele- 
ment has been superimposed upon the basic substratum of feel- 
ing. It is the combination of these two forces that constitutes 
an ideal. The intellectual elements furnish the meaning of 
the ideal ; the core of instinct gives it force and vitaHty. 

M 



1 62 EDUCATIONAL VALUES 

7. The ideals that grow out of the instinct of imitation 
are less easily to be identified. Doubtless the imitative 
impulse contributes no small share to the effective force 
of the ideals of sport. In its own right instinctive imi- 
tation may justly claim to be the parent of ideals of 
constructive imitation. Instinctive imitation is ex- 
pressed in the impulse to copy the adjustments that others 
make without reference to the purpose of these adjust- 
ments. But when the blind impulse is illuminated by the 
consciousness of purpose, — when the individual sees 
that the imitated movement gains some result valuable 
in itself apart from the mere pleasure of making it, — an 
intellectual element is introduced and the transition 
from impulse to ideal has begun. The instinct still 
furnishes the force, but the idea determines the meaning 
— changes, transforms, the reference of the adjustment. 
This imitation becomes the basis of that class of ideals 
which is represented by the higher forms of emulation and 
example. It expresses itself concretely in the adoles- 
cent's personal ideals, — in the selection of individuals 
(generally adults) whom he strives to resemble.^ 

8. There are still many ideals for which it is very hard 
to find basic instincts, and some instincts for which corre- 
sponding ideals are not readily suggested. The ideal of 
reverence, for example, may be traced back to the instinct 
of fear, but the explanation of reverence merely in terms 
of fear (no matter how highly one may idealize fear) 

1 Cf . E. A. Kirkpatrick : Fundamentals of Child Study, New York, 
1907, p. 195. 



FULFILLING THE INSPIRATIONAL FUNCTIONS 1 63 

seems hardly satisfactory. One may, perhaps, be justi- 
fied in assuming a basic instinctive reverence, — a vague 
feeHng of helplessness and dependence, — out of which, 
through intellectual accretions, the highest ideals of 
reverence are developed. Whatever the explanation, 
the powerful influence that these ideals exert is plainly 
apparent. Religious education needs especially to gain 
light on this problem, for religious education in the past 
has not always developed these ideals effectively; in 
fact, it is hardly too much to say that negative ideals have 
frequently issued as a result of shortsighted methods. 

9. The ideal of achievement, — the unreasoned im- 
pulse which drives one to complete a task that has once 
been undertaken, — must be ranked as one of the most 
powerful and effective of all controls of conduct. It is 
difficult to determine, however, what instincts furnish 
the impelHng force. It is probably to be considered as 
an outgrowth of the individuaHstic instincts, although 
the sex impulses and the instinct of emulation doubtless 
add important increments. 

10. What is the relation of the materials of education 
to the development of ideals? It is reasonable to be- 
lieve that ideals are influenced by educative forces in 
two ways, — directly and indirectly. Certain ideals, 
in other words, may be impressed and developed as ideals ; 
others come into function as an indirect result of instruc- 
tion or training that has for its immediate purpose some- 
thing that may have little superficial relation to the ideals 
in question. As an example of the first class, one may 



1 64 EDUCATIONAL VALUES 

instance the ideal of patriotism, which may be developed, 
or at least strengthened, through the study of national 
history. In the second class are the ideals of method 
which generalize specific disciplines. The present chap- 
ter will consider only ideals of the first class. 

II. History, biography, literature, art in any of its 
forms, and religion are the chief sources of materials 
for the direct development of ideals. The ideals that 
history embodies are of two types, — national ideals and 
universal ideals. Both are fundamental controls of 
conduct, operating almost daily in common life. The 
community of conduct in any group of civilized people 
is evidence of the potency of national ideals. 

Instances illustrating this point will come readily to the 
minds of those who have traveled in different countries. 
The EngHshman has standards of conduct differing from 
those of the American, the German standards differ from 
those of the Englishman, the French standards from the 
German, and so on. The Englishman, for example, has a 
certain contempt for free schools; the American stakes his 
nation's future on free schools. This difference in educa- 
tional ideals is a controlling factor in the life of the two coun- 
tries. The German has an ideal of frugality and national 
economy that neither Americans nor Englishmen attain. 
He v/illingly obeys laws with regard to property that Ameri- 
cans at least would not respect. The Parisian has ideals 
of home life and family relations that are not acceptable to 
the Anglo-Saxon mind. 

These differences may have some basis in the natural 
constitution of different peoples; but that this basis is, at 
best, very slight, is evident from the ease with which ideals 



FULFILLING THE INSPIRATIONAL FUNCTIONS 1 65 

are changed when people of one nationaUty take up their 
residence in a foreign land. This is especially to be noted in 
the European immigrants who have settled in America. In 
two generations, at most, almost every trace of the Euro- 
pean ideals and prejudices is completely eradicated. 

Among the national ideals which distinguish Americans from 
other peoples are those of individual self-reliance and equal- 
ity of opportimity. There are other ideals which we hold in 
common with other nations — especially England : civil 
liberty, local self-government, national unity, and representa- 
tive democracy. These national ideals control the conduct 
of the component members of the body politic not only in 
those adjustments that have reference to government, but 
also in many little matters that concern only the individual 
himself. In virtue of his national ideals, the American sends 
his children to a free pubhc school, and sometimes permits 
the pubHc to supply them with books and other materials, 
even though he himself may be far better able to make the 
purchases than many of those who are taxed for the purpose. 
He may not always reason out carefully why he does this, 
but sometimes he does, and then his reasoning might con- 
ceivably run something like this: "Education opens oppor- 
tunities that must be equally offered to all children. I can 
easily afford to pay for the education of my children, but to 
do so would be to place the free schools upon a charity basis. 
I may be able to purchase books for my children, but to do 
so would be to place free books for indigent children upon a 
charity basis. In either case, I should be interposing an ob- 
stacle between the mass of children and the education which 
is their right, for I have in effect pauperized one class at the 
expense of another. Therefore, to equahze opportunity, I 
send my children to free schools and let them accept free 
text-books and supplies." This is conduct that is controlled 
by an ideal. The ideal is ''equahty of opportunity." This 



1 66 EDUCATIONAL VALUES 

ideal is undoubtedly realized in America in far richer measure 
than in any other country, and it is this ideal that America 
stands for as it stands for nothing else. 

Again, in virtue of his ideal of local self-government, the 
American citizen undergoes certain disadvantages that would 
not be his lot were he to adopt a centralized system of govern- 
ment. He taxes himself for innumerable bits of govern- 
mental machinery, — legislatures, executive staffs, judiciaries, 
— the function of which could be much more economically 
fulfilled by fewer centralized ofi&cials and representative 
bodies. He does this willingly, and often with a full knowl- 
edge of the disadvantages involved, because he not only 
believes but feels that, in spite of the cumbrous system, 
certain priceless liberties are retained by him that would 
otherwise be abrogated. 

In virtue of his ideal of representative democracy, the 
American citizen intrusts his government to the hands of 
many individuals, although he knows that governmental 
efficiency is best subserved by concentrating its functions in 
a few individuals. The ideal determines his conduct, impels 
him to sacrifice a certain measure of efficiency in order that 
he may feel that his own interests have the chance of repre- 
sentation. 

12. It is one function of the study of national history 
to impress these national ideals upon each succeeding 
generation. Certainly other forces are operative in the 
conservation and perpetuation of these ideals. They 
are expressed in the life about us, — in the institutions 
of society; and imitation and suggestion, unaided by 
formal education, would tend to perpetuate them. But 
their vitality and stability may be greatly increased and 
strengthened by the study of history, for history may 



FULFILLING THE INSPIRATIONAL FUNCTIONS 1 67 

lead the child vicariously to repeat the experiences through 
which the ideals have developed. It was said in a former 
section that the direct utilitarian value of history was 
inconsiderable^ inasmuch as the facts and generaliza- 
tions of history were only infrequently applied to existing 
situations and then with no certainty that the predicted 
results would follow. It is not the facts and principles 
of history that the present and future generations will 
apply; it is rather the emotions and sentiments which 
these facts of history evoke in the mind of the student 
that will operate to determine future events.^ 

13. But the value of history is not limited to the 
national ideals that its study develops. Historical per- 

^ "If a boy be told to love his country, he might properly inquire, 
What is my country ? It would not be enough to show him a list of the 
States, or the flag, or to name the leading politician who happened to 
be President. His real country has much that is invisible built into its 
very structure. It is Washington's long struggle to found and organize 
the republic ; it is Jefferson's dreams of democratic equality ; it is the deeds 
and words of men who from period to period guided public opinion and 
settled the national policy, of those who spread civil communities from 
the Alleghanies to the Pacific, who built up our industries and laid the 
foundations of our intellectual life. Each act in all the great drama 
has added its bit to the reality of the whole. . , . Physical blindness is 
no more unfortunate than any dimness of sight that shuts out half and 
more of what such parts of the world really are." — H. E. Bourne : 
The Teaching of History and Civics, New York, 1909, p. 81. 

"Why does 'nobility oblige'? Simply because the boy or man has 
entered into a larger realization of what he is through his knowledge 
of the traditions of the house. In the same way the honorable record 
of a regiment, of a ship of the line, the traditions of even-handed justice 
that surround certain courts, elevate and clarify the consciousness of the 
men who make up their personnel. So the boy and girl may, through 
the proper study of history, learn better to know themselves in relation 
to their community, their State, and their country." — Ihid., pp. 84 f . _^ 



l68 EDUCATIONAL VALUES 

sonages and historical events constantly typify certain 
universal ideals, — certain ideals that function irrespec- 
tive of national or ethnic bonds. Courage, fortitude, 
initiative, efficiency, foresight, — in fact every conceiv- 
able human virtue may be given a surer footing in the 
individual mind through the study of history and biog- 
raphy ; although here, also, the suggestion of the imme- 
diate social environment exerts a powerful influence, 
— and an influence that often needs to be counter- 
acted. 

14. From what source is the emotional force essential 
to the vitality of these ideals to be derived ? In national 
history, unquestionably, the instincts that are stimulated 
by kinship, or blood-relation, form an important factor. 
The virtues of Lincoln's character appeal with stronger 
force to Americans than to Germans because Americans 
recognize that Lincoln was one of them. Needless to 
say, the feeling of kinship can be stimulated, even 
though the actual blood-tie be non-existent. Com- 
munity of interest is afforded by national life, and this 
gives rise to emotional factors almost as powerful as those 
that are afforded by actual blood-relationship. The 
figures in world-history whose sphere of activity lies 
outside of our own race or nation appeal to us less strongly 
than do our own heroes; the ideals represented by 
Napoleon or Bismarck will, in general, lack the emotional 
force of those represented by Lincoln; nevertheless, 
conspicuous virtues and abilities excite admiration, it 
matters not in whom they may be found. 



FULFILLING THE INSPIRATIONAL FUNCTIONS 1 69 

15. Perhaps even more important than history in 
affording a medium for the transmission of powerful 
ideals is Hterature. There can be little doubt that con- 
duct has been profoundly modified by the drama and the 
novel. The influence of such writers as Voltaire and 
Rousseau upon the French people in the eighteenth 
century; the influence of Dickens upon certain phases 
of English life; the influence of *' Uncle Tom's Cabin" 
upon the American Civil War, — these are but few in- 
stances of the recognized power of literature. 

The pecuHar influence of a dramatic portrayal upon the 
emotions cannot be discussed at this point. The solution 
must be sought in part at least in the form or structure that 
is fairly constant throughout the realm of art ; particularly, 
in the unity of composition and the subordination of all ma- 
terials to one central theme. That this form fulfills in some 
way the conditions that are essential to an emotional appeal, 
there can be no doubt. 

16. From the standpoint of content, however, it is 
clear that the basic themes with which the drama and 
the novel commonly deal are closely related to funda- 
mental instincts. Love, war, struggle, failure, achieve- 
ment, and triumph have the closest possible rela- 
tions with individualistic and sex instincts. The 
novel and the drama, utilizing the form that is best 
adapted to reach these wellsprings of conduct, are 
eminently adapted to provide what may be termed a 
vicarious satisfaction or gratification of instinctive 
desires that cannot be realized directly. The boy who 



170 EDUCATIONAL VALUES 

is forced by circumstances to live the urban life, with its 
numerous restrictions which prevent the expression of 
his primitive impulses, finds a vicarious though weakened 
satisfaction in the perusal of stories of fighting and hunt- 
ing. The maiden finds analogous gratification of the 
vicarious order in novels and love stories. Situations 
that are vividly imaged become, in effect, real situations. 
Actual adjustment to them is often initiated, — the boy's 
muscles become tense as he reads of the excitements of 
the chase; his nostrils dilate; his breathing is quick- 
ened; the physiological conditions of emotion are per- 
fectly fulfilled. Ideas that are absorbed at this time 
will tend to become emotionalized, — to become ideals. 
Courage, perseverance, magnanimity, courtesy, charity, 
and a host of other virtues may, in this way, be endowed 
with sufficient emotional force to carry them through 
life as effective controls of conduct. 

This, of course, is but a suggestion of what may happen. 
In a large way, the potency of literature over conduct can 
scarcely be doubted. In individual cases, — that is, in cases 
where men and women are themselves certain that they owe 
their ideals to literature, — a hundred other sources may 
have contributed as much or more. As with other environ- 
mental forces, it is difiicult to determine, in every case, the 
precise influence exerted. A man may be absolutely certain 
that his appreciation of "The Tale of Two Cities," for exam- 
ple, led to the formation in his mind of a powerful ideal of 
self-sacrifice which modified his conduct in later situations. 
And yet his ideal of self-sacrifice might have been developed 
independently of this stimulus. It seems tolerably certain, 



FULFILLING THE INSPIRATIONAL FUNCTIONS 171 

however, that even granting an innate or hereditary basis 
for self-sacrifice, environmental stimulus of some sort is essen- 
tial to its development as an effective ideal. Unless this is 
true, moral education, — all education, in fact, — becomes 
a luxury without a purpose — a mere epiphenomenon. 

17. Ideals are crystallized in other forms of art as 
well as in literature, — in painting, music, sculpture, 
and architecture. The use of these materials in formal 
education, however, has hitherto been limited largely 
to the study of pictures, and this has been prosecuted in a 
way that is generally far from satisfactory or effective. 
It is possible that a method may be devised through 
which the inspirational value that pictures possess can 
be realized in the schoolroom. Certainly one of the first 
steps toward the devising of such a method will be a 
selection of the pictures that embody ideals appealing 
to children. Under present conditions, the function of 
pictorial art in elementary education is largely limited 
to the intangible and rather uncertain effect which the 
presence of good pictures in one's environment has upon 
the development of that quality that we term "good 
taste." 

18. The same restrictions apply to the ideals that are 
embodied in musical masterpieces, — except that here 
the baneful effects of what appears to be a most irrational 
method must first be counteracted. If there is any 
idealism in music, the methods of instruction that are 
commonly employed in the ''teaching" of this subject 
are eminently adapted to destroy it. Music, like litera- 



172 EDUCATIONAL VALUES 

ture, is something to be appreciated, and appreciation 
in both cases may involve a certain mastery of technique. 
But what seems to be needed in music is not so exclu- 
sively training in the technique of singing as is now the 
case ; some of this is possibly essential to musical appre- 
ciation, just as some acquaintance with the technique 
of style is essential to Uterary appreciation; but to 
attempt to develop an appreciation for the best music 
through the type of instruction common in the schools 
is about as futile as to attempt to cultivate literary appre- 
ciation through drill courses in composition alone. 
What is needed in both cases is (to speak in a quasi- 
figurative fashion) a training of the receptive capacities 
rather than an exclusive training of the expressive 
capacities. The child should hear the best music over 
and over again until it has sunk into his soul, and fortified 
him forever against the seductive wiles of the tin-pot 
jingles and the sentimental songs of the music halls. 
But here, too, as in the case of picture-study, the direct 
development of ideals is governed by laws which are very 
inadequately understood and hence is subject to control 
in a very Hmited degree. 

19. Concerning rehgion as a medium for the direct 
development of ideals, little need be said. That the 
^'religious experience" marks the genesis of some of the 
most important controls of conduct, one can scarcely 
doubt. The keynote of the powerful influence that 
religion exerts must be sought in its emotional appeal. 
In other words, a moral standard that is supported by 



FULFILLING THE INSPIRATIONAL FUNCTIONS 1 73 

religion possesses, in virtue of this support, an emotional 
force that very greatly increases its control over conduct. 
The Ten Commandments are fundamental rules of social 
life. They are absolutely essential to the stability and 
perpetuation of society. If they were simply stated in a 
didactic fashion — as principles or rules — the sphere 
of their influence would be almost negHgible. But give 
them concreteness and vitality by telling the dramatic 
story of their origin ; put them forth as the imperative 
commands of an all-powerful Deity; clothe them with 
the impressive vestments of rite and ritual ; associate 
with failure to comply with their restrictions the most 
drastic penalties, — and their appeal becomes universal. 
This is not to say that religion exists simply or prin- 
cipally as a handmaiden to morality ; it is simply to say 
that one very vital function of religion is to support and 
vitalize moral standards and ideals. It is this very vi- 
tal function that has given religion in the past its social 
sanction, for society must always give an effective sanc- 
tion to the institutions that are essential to its survival. 

Beyond this function, of course, religion answers a funda- 
mental need of the individual, — a need for comfort, faith, 
hope, and inspiration. Whether it manifests itself in a crude, 
animistic, or anthropomorphic form, or in a form the most 
rarely refined and highly idealized, reUgion is always foimd 
to subserve these ends. It is the native and original need for 
these "things of the spirit" that constitutes the basis of the 
religious nature. 

20. As a medium for the direct development of ideals, 
then, religion can exert a tremendous influence through 



174 EDUCATIONAL VALUES 

the powerful emotional forces that it may enlist in its 
service. There is scarcely a fundamental human im- 
pulse that is not subject in one way or another to the 
stimulus that religion offers. The basic individualistic 
instincts (desire for life, fear of death, hope of reward, 
fear of punishment, yearning for happiness, dread of 
misery), the imperious sex, parental, and social instincts 
(desire of approbation, fear of disapproval, desire for the 
companionship of those that are near and dear, fear of 
banishment and ostracism), the adaptive instincts (de- 
light in imitating forms and ceremonies, the pleasure of 
participating in the drama of ritualism, the comfort of 
satisfying instinctive curiosity concerning the mysteries 
of life and death), — all of these may be seized upon and 
turned to account by the institutions of religion. And 
perhaps the feeling of reverence, which is the crux of the 
religious experience, is to be looked upon as a resultant 
of these more fundamental impulses and emotions. 

21. To summarize: The materials of education that 
may function in impressing ideals are chiefly history, 
biography, literature and other forms of art, and religion. 
Through these media standards and prejudices of a 
definite sort are impressed upon the mind of the individ- 
ual ; they may become important controls of conduct, 
and their fundamental significance in the development 
of the socially-efficient individual is unquestionable. 

22. The preceding pages have not attempted an evalu- 
ation of all possible ideals in terms of the ultimate end 
of education. This is a task that might well occupy 



FULFILLING THE INSPIRATIONAL FUNCTIONS 1 7$ 

the attention of the philosopher of education for a life- 
time, — and even then his evaluations, however nicely 
adjusted, would be subject to constant revision; for 
social needs change with changing conditions, and the 
great, driving forces of human life must be adapted to 
these changing needs. On the other hand, there is no 
doubt that the development of the socially-ejficient indi- 
vidual is absolutely dependent upon the possibility 
of engendering effective ideals, and there is also no doubt 
that to certain ideals must be ascribed a permanent value, 
— a value that persists through all forms of social change, 
a value that is inherent in the very nature of society. 
The following list, embodying both ideals of this perma- 
nent type and ideals that, while of questionable perma- 
nent value, have at least important functions in present- 
day society, is given as suggestive of some of the types 
that a thoroughgoing classification should include. 

I. Ideals that are absolutely essential to the stability and 
progress of human society. 

(a) Respect for the feelings of others. 

(b) Respect for the rights of others. 

1. Property rights. 

2. Equality of opportunity (including universal 

free education). 

3. Tolerance in religion and poHtics. 

(c) Ideals essential to the integrity of the home. 

1. Chastity (conjugal fideUty). 

2. Monogamy. 

3. Parental love (an instinct which justifies an 

almost complete confirmation, the only quali- 
fication being that the impulse to protect and 



176 EDUCATIONAL VALUES 

shield the child be checked by a recognition 
that "character" is often best developed by 
a reasonable degree of hardship). 

(d) Respect for age. 

(e) Respect for womanhood. 

(/) Sympathy with suffering and affliction. 

(g) Self-sacrifice, self-denial (the disposition to think 
of one's own pleasures as worth seeking does 
not need the sanction of education; instinct 
will take care of this abundantly well). 

(h) Personal integrity (honor, honesty). 

(i) Loyalty. 

(j) Friendship. 

(k) Cleanliness, personal purity (aversion to pruriency, 
indecency, etc.). 

(/) Altruism (on the negative side, freedom from the 
dominance of motives that have merely an 
individual and selfish reference; willingness 
particularly to work for the common good). 

(m) Achievement (expressing itself in willingness to put 
forth effort and undergo disciphne). 

(«) Truth (the spirit of the "scientific method" as the 
most effective guide in testing the validity of 
facts and principles and the social value of 
ideals, prejudices, tastes, and attitudes; the 
disposition to accept the findings of science 
irrespective of their effects. This is socially 
justified by the experience of the race, which 
shows clearly that permanent progress has never 
been made by accepting dogmas that stand 
directly opposed to demonstrated truth). 

(0) SimpHcity (an aversion to luxury for its own sake). 

(p) Work (an aversion to idleness). 

{q) Health (temperance, healthful recreation). 



FULFILLING THE INSPIRATIONAL FUNCTIONS 1 77 

(r) Initiative (the desire to search for, and accept when 
found, any new conduct-control that will 
promote social welfare). 

(5) Independence, self-reHance (economic). 
II. Ideals that are particularly important at the present 
stage of social evolution, but which later de- 
velopments may render less important. 

(a) Patriotism (reverence for the ideals which represent 

the national life; it is conceivable that social 
evolution may do away with present differences 
between nations, and that the national ideals 
of the present may sometime be replaced by 
universal ideals, made up of those national 
ideals which experience shall show to be most 
worthy of general acceptance ; this, of course, 
is far in the future). 

(b) National unity (may be replaced by world-unity). 

(c) Local self-government (while there is little doubt 

that local initiative in governmental affairs 
will always be essential to the optimum of 
social development, it is conceivable that social 
evolution will produce a type of government 
that will safeguard local and individual inter- 
ests and still effect the economies that go with 
centralized government). 
III. Ideals that are important in the present stage of social 
development, but which need particular atten- 
tion from education in the direction of control 
and partial inhibition; this Hmitation is due 
to the fact that these ideals are very closely 
related to strong instinctive impulses, and, 
unlike the weaker social instincts, need direc- 
tion rather than encouragement. 
(a) Property (a carefully quaUfied confirmation of the 



178 EDUCATIONAL VALUES 

native instinct to acquire material wealth is 
essential in education; to crush entirely this 
instinct would, under present social conditions, 
spell disaster).^ 

(b) Sexual love (the problem here is to develop ideals 

that will ennoble and etherealize the operation 
of the sex instincts). 

(c) Ambition (the operation particularly of the powerful 

instinctive forces of emulation and rivalry must 
be controlled, chiefly through the influence of 
sociaUzing ideals). 

(d) War (all ideals that grow out of the fighting instinct 

must be modified by the operation of socializing 
factors ; under present conditions at least — 
and it may be, permanently — the entire 
suppression of the fighting instinct would un- 
doubtedly operate against social progress, — 
assuming that social progress means social 
achievement). 

(e) Authority (to accept the dictates of authority seems 

to be, for most people, the line of least resist- 
ance, but for a large minority the very word 
is a bugbear. It would seem that a certain 
measure of respect for the experience of the 
ages is sanctioned by reason, and that those 
who lack this respect are likely to consume 
valuable time and energy in rediscovering truths 
that have already been adequately demon- 
strated and formulated, and particularly in 

^ The skeptic may deny the power of educative forces to crush so 
fundamental an instinct, but the skeptic forgets that powerful ideals 
have been developed in the past which have effectually crushed out, 
not only the property instinct, but also the sex instincts, which are far 
more imperious and fundamental. 



FULFILLING THE INSPIRATIONAL FUNCTIONS 1 79 

looking upon such truths as the result of their 
own unaided effort, and of transmitting them 
to others under that impression. It is well, 
then, to impress upon each generation the es- 
sential principle that most of our '' thoughts" 
have been thought before, and that whatever 
any individual has to offer in the way of con- 
tribution should be carefully viewed in the light 
of what has gone before — to the end that the 
periodic rediscovery of obvious facts be less 
in evidence, and that each individual so dis- 
posed may add a real and positive increment 
to the sum total of human knowledge). 



CHAPTER XII 

Values to be Realized in Fulfilling Disciplinary 

Functions 

I. The status of the ''disciplinary" functions in 
modern education, and especially among American edu- 
cators, is far from settled. The reaction against the older 
notion of "formal discipline" ^ has probably reached its 
extreme point, and a counter-reaction seems to be set- 
ting in. On the other hand, the prevailing tendencies in 
American schools are almost exclusively in the direction 
of recognizing no materials of education that cannot be 
justified on their intrinsic instructional or training merits, 
and without reference to their virtues in developing 
generalized habits, tendencies, or attitudes that are 
supposed to influence conduct in unrelated fields. This 
is only another way of saying that the reaction against the 
dogma of formal discipline has just now reached the level 
of actual school practice; the new curriculums and 
programs are just beginning to feel its influence. The 
counter-reaction is limited to the theoretical side as yet. 

1 The notion of formal discipline originated with the Greeks. (See 
F. P. Graves : History of Education, New York, 1909, vol. i, p. 189.) 
Its important position in modem educational doctrine is due, in part, 
to the writings of John Locke, and in greater measure perhaps to the 
teachings of the " faculty " psychology. 

l8o 



FULFILLING DISCIPLINARY FUNCTIONS l8l 

The wide extent of the reaction against formal discipline 
is probably due, in large measure, to the new demands that 
have been made upon education for instruction and training 
that shall be definitely and unequivocally "practical." The 
wide dissemination of the facihties for education has imposed 
a heavy burden of taxation. This, in turn, has led to a more 
and more insistent demand that the costly machinery which 
has been set in motion shall make an adequate return upon the 
investment in the way of increased social and industrial effi- 
ciency. As Spencer so clearly points out, conventional edu- 
cation, when it was confined to the well-to-do and supported 
entirely by private endowment, emphasized the ornamental 
at the expense of the useful. Direct taxation, especially in 
America, does not respond readily when the stimulus is a 
proposed provision for something that is merely ornamental. 
Tangible results of an economic nature are demanded and 
education must train for economic efficiency or education 
will lose popular support. 

It has been under the spur of this condition that practical 
standards have been applied with ever-increasing rigidity 
to the methods and processes and products of education; 
and this condition has operated very strongly toward pre- 
paring the minds of both laymen and professional educators 
for the repudiation of the doctrine of formal discipline. A 
formal discipline is an intangible process at best ; the manner 
through which it works over into conduct has, until recently, 
been more or less problematical, not certain and indisputable. 
Small wonder, then, that the direct, practical American mind 
should have eagerly embraced the rather hastily drawn and 
certainly inadequately tested conclusion that disciplinary 
values are conventional values under another name. 

2. Although the followers of Herbart very early 
rejected the notion of formal discipline as inconsistent 



l82 EDUCATIONAL VALUES 

with the fundamental principles of the Herbartian psy- 
chology/ the first really effective attack upon the doc- 
trine in this country followed in the wake of James's 
assertion, in his ''Principles of Psychology," that one's 
native retentiveness is unchangeable, and that any 
exercises that seem to increase one's ability to memorize 
really train different specific capacities and not a single 
* general capacity.^ This authoritative expression from 
a competent psychologist, and supported by some plaus- 
ible experimental evidence,^ was immediately taken up 
by educators and extended to include all forms of ca- 
pacity that had hitherto been considered amenable to 
formal training of a general nature. The reaction may 
be said to have gained a lasting foothold in the presenta- 
tion of a paper by B. A. Hinsdale ^ before the National 
Educational Association in 1894. Hinsdale argued 
strongly and cogently for a repudiation of the doctrine 
of formal discipHne with respect to the training of ap- 
prehension, memory, imagination, logical thought, and 

1 Cf. De Garmo : Principles of Secondary Education, New York, 1907, 
vol. i, p. 32 : "Since all mental exercise takes its rise in a definite mental 
content, its character is necessarily determined by its origin, so that it 
would be absurd to assume that thinking power developed by the study 
of mathematics, for instance, would as such have any validity in that, 
say, of biology." 

2 W. James : Principles of Psychology, New York, 1890, vol. i, p. 667. 

3 See S. S. Colvin {Some Facts in Partial Justification of the So-called 
Dogma of Formal Discipline, Urbana, Illinois, 1910, p. 9) for a discussion 
and criticism of James's crude experiments. 

^ B. A. Hinsdale: "The Dogma of Formal Discipline," Proceedings 
N. E. A., 1894; also published in Educational Review, 1894, vol. viii, 
pp. 128 fif. 



FULFILLING DISCIPLINARY FUNCTIONS 1 83 

volition, although he admitted the possibility of an 
"overflow" of training into congruent channels, "just 
as exercise of the muscles of any part of the body prob- 
ably strengthens somewhat the whole muscular system." 
3. The most important factor in the disintegration 
of the dogma came, however, seven years later, when the 
problem was first subjected to careful experimental inves- 
tigation by Thorndike and Woodworth of Columbia 
University.^ 

The method employed in these investigations was ingen- 
ious. The following "sample experiment" will illustrate 
its chief characteristics: "There was a series of about 125 
pieces of paper cut in various shapes. (Area- test series.) 
Of these, 13 were rectangles of almost the same shape and ^^ 
sizes from 20 to 90 square centimeters (series i), 27 others 
were triangles, circles, irregular figures, etc., within the same 
limits of size (series 2). A subject was given the whole series 
of areas, and asked to write down the area in square centi- 
meters of each one. In front of him was a card on which 
three squares, 1,25, and 100 square centimeters, respectively, 
were drawn. He ^ as allowed to look at them as much as he 
pleased but not to superpose the pieces of paper on them. 
No other means of telling the areas were present. After being 
thus tested, the subject was given a series of paper rectangles, 
from 10 to 100 square centimenters in area and of the same 
shape as those of series i. These were shuffled and the sub- 
ject guessed the area of one, then looked to see what it really 
was and recorded his error. This was continued and the 
pieces of paper were kept shuffled so that he could judge their 

1 E. L. Thorndike and R. S. Woodworth : "The Influence of Improve- 
ment in One Mental Function upon the Efficiency of Other Functions," 
Psychological Review, 1901, vol. viii, pp. 247-261, 384-395. 



184 EDUCATIONAL VALUES 

area only from their intrinsic qualities. After a certain 
amount of improvement had been made he was re-tested with 
the 'area test series' in the same manner as before." 

The results of this "sample experiment" are typical of all of 
the results of the investigation and may be briefly noted : — 

The mental function that underwent training was the 
capacity for estimating the sizes of areas varying from 10 
to 100 square centimeters. The ''training" consisted in 
correcting the errors by ascertaining, after each estimate, 
the true area. This training resulted in a certain improve- 
ment. The amount of error after the training was, in all of 
the subjects tested, less than the amount of the error before 
the training. In one case it was 56 per cent as much after 
training as before training; in another case 53 per cent; 
in another 13 per cent, etc. Now what influence did this 
training have upon the capacity to estimate areas of the same 
magnitude but differing in shape ? (In this case, it will be 
seen, the situation is somewhat different; can the training 
*' spread" to this different situation?) In some of the sub- 
jects, it was found that the training did spread in some 
measure, but in only one subject was the increase in capacity 
at all comparable with the increase in the function trained; 
while in two cases, the capacity for estimating areas of differ- 
ent shape, far from being improved by the training on areas 
of the same shape, was actually diminished. 

Experiments following a similar method investigated 
the transfer of training in estimating weights, in perceiv- 
ing words containing certain letters, and in picking out 
different parts of speech from a printed page. The 
results of all of the experiments are summarized by 
Thorndike ^ as follows : — 

1 Educational Psychology (ist edition), New York, 1903, p. 90. 



FULFILLING DISCIPLINARY FUNCTIONS 185 

"Individuals practiced estimating the areas of rectangles 
from 10 to 100 square centimeters in size until a very marked 
improvement was attained. The improvement in accuracy 
for areas of the same size but of different shapes, due to this 
training, was only 44 per cent as great as that for areas of 
the same shape and size. For areas of the same shape, but 
from 140-300 square centimeters in size, the improvement 
was 30 per cent as great. For areas of different shape and 
from 140-400 square centimeters in size, the improvement 
was 52 per cent as great. 

"Training in estimating weights of from 40-100 grams re- 
sulted in only 39 per cent as much improvement in estimat- 
ing weights from 120 to 1800 grams. Training in estimating 
lines from 0.5 to 1.5 inches long (resulting in a reduction of 
error to 25 per cent of the initial amount) resulted in no 
improvement in the estimation of lines 6-12 inches long. 

"Training in perceiving words containing e and s gave a 
certain amount of improvement in speed and accuracy in 
that special ability. In the ability to perceive words con- 
taining i and /, ^ and ^, c and a, e and r, a and w, I and 0, 
misspelled words and A^s, there was an improvement in 
speed of only 39 per cent as much as in the ability specially 
trained, and in accuracy of only 25 per cent as much. 
Training in perceiving English verbs gave a reduction in 
time of nearly 21 per cent and in omissions of 70 per cent. 
The ability to perceive other parts of speech showed a re- 
duction in time of 3 per cent, but an increase of omissions 
of over 100 per cent." 

4. Thorndike's inferences from the results of his 
experiments have been frequently cited in educational 
literature, and have had large influence in determining 
the present attitude toward formal discipline. They 
are important enough to warrant quoting them in full : — 



1 86 EDUCATIONAL VALUES 

"Improvement in any single mental function need not 
improve the ability in functions commonly called by the same 
name. It may injure it. 

" Improvement in any single mental function rarely brings 
about equal improvement in any other function, no matter 
how similar, for the working of every mental function group 
is conditioned by the nature of the data in each particular 
case. 

"The very slight amount of variation in the nature of the 
data necessary to affect the efficiency of a function group 
makes it fair to infer that no change in the data, however 
slight, is without effect on the function. The loss in the 
efficiency of a function trained with certain data, as we pass 
to data more and more unlike the first, makes it fair to infer 
that there is always a point where loss is complete, a point 
beyond which the influence of the training has not extended. 
The rapidity of this loss — that is, its amount in the case of 
data very similar to the data on which the function is trained 
— makes it fair to infer that this point is nearer than has been 
supposed. 

"The general consideration of the cases of retention, or 
of loss of practice effect, seems to make it likely that spread 
of practice occurs only where identical elements are con- 
cerned in the influencing and influenced function." ^ 

It is to be noted that Thorndike admits the possi- 
bility of a partial "spread" of training in cases where 
there are some elements of identity between the situation 
to which repose is trained and the new situation. In a 
later work^ he recognizes two types of identity : (a) iden- 
tity of substance^ and {h) identity of procedure. Identity 

^ Educational Psychology (ist edition), 1903, p. 91. 
2 Principles of Teaching, New York, 1906, ch. xv. 



FULFILLING DISCIPLINARY FUNCTIONS 1 87 

of substance is illustrated by the relation between 
mathematics and physics ; identity of procedure is 
illustrated by the relation between the subjects employ- 
ing similar types of laboratory procedure. Thus, train- 
ing in mathematics will be likely favorably to affect 
one's mastery of physics, and proficiency in the 
laboratory methods in chemistry may be carried over to 
laboratory work in botany. It should also be noted 
that the Thorndike-Woodworth experiments, as the in- 
vestigators pointed out in their first publication of re- 
sults,^ concerned only the influence of training on effi- 
ciency, "on ability as measured by a single test," not 
on ability to improve in the field to which the transfer 
was made.^ 

5. The attention drawn to the experimental study of 
the problem through the Thorndike-Woodworth inves- 
tigations led to further attempts to gain light by the 
application of methods more or less similar. Dr. Naomi 
Norsworthy ^ tested several hundred school children in 
multiplication, in observing misspelled words, in mark- 
ing words containing e and r, in perceiving the word 
hoy on the printed page, and in marking semicircles 
scattered amongst all sorts of geometrical forms. Tak- 



* Psychological Review, vol. viii, 1901, p. 249. 

2 This admission obviously rules the investigations out of court in 
so far as they speak against the transfer of training through ideals of 
method. It should also be noted that these investigations were not 
"checked" by a control test, as in many of the more recent experiments. 

3 Naomi Norsworthy: "Formal Training," New York Teachers* 
Monographs, vol. iv, 1902, pp. 96-99. 



l88 EDUCATIONAL VALUES 

ing the results of one of these tests as a standard, she 
correlated with them the results of the others in an 
effort to determine whether a high grade of efficiency in 
one function means necessarily a high grade of efficiency 
in other functions. Finding very little direct correla- 
tion in these functions, she concluded that there are no 
such things as general abilities, and consequently that 
it is "folly to pretend to train them." 

6. Experiments undertaken in the Montana State 
Normal College seemed to substantiate these conclu- 
sions. These experiments tested very crudely the ability 
to transfer the results of training in neatness and ac- 
curacy. The conclusions were published in the writer's 
"Educative Process," without attempting to give the 
data from which they were drawn. Inasmuch as these 
conclusions have been cited since that book appeared, 
it may be well to give rather more definite information 
concerning the experiments at this time. It should be 
noted that these tests were made by normal school stu- 
dents, and, although they were carefully planned and 
supervised by a trained psychologist,^ it was not in- 
tended in the publication of their results to present 
anything more than an interesting commentary upon 
the earlier experiments. Indeed the extent to which 
they have been generalized is quite unjustified. For 
this the writer must assume full responsibility because 
of the brevity with which the test was described in his 
earlier book. 

* Dr. Carrie Ranson Squire. 



FULFILLING DISCIPLINARY FUNCTIONS 1 89 

The test consisted simply in insisting on neatness and 
accuracy in the preparation of arithmetic papers by pupils 
in the latter half of the third grade. Nothing was said of 
either neatness or accuracy in connection with the rest of the 
school work during the period covered by the tests. The 
papers in language and speUing were, however, saved, and 
later these were graded and the marks of each pupil com- 
pared with his corresponding mark in the arithmetic test. 
In the subject emphasized (arithmetic) it was found that 
three weeks' persistent drill upon the preparation of neat and 
accurate papers resulted in the initiation of very effective 
habits. The papers were all graded by the same three in- 
dividuals (the student-investigators). Out of thirteen pupils 
tested, all showed this improvement in arithmetic save one, 
whose last paper fell 0.02 behind the first paper in accuracy, 
although it was improved in neatness. The average gain 
for the thirteen pupils was 3.69 per cent in accuracy, and 
4.9 per cent in neatness (reckoning the increase on the mark- 
ings of the papers which was upon the ordinary scale of 100). 
When the language and spelHng papers were graded and 
averaged, however, it was found that there was in every case 
save one a decrease in both accuracy and neatness. This 
one pupil, curiously enough, was the exception to the general 
result in the arithmetic test. The language papers showed 
an average deterioration of 3.2 per cent in accuracy and 2.1 
per cent in neatness ; the spelling papers a deterioration of 
3 per cent in accuracy and 2.3 per cent in neatness. Whether 
this deterioration would have continued with a continuance 
of the same conditions, there is, of course, no means of telling. 
There is nothing in the results to show that the virtues of 
the specific training were even beginning to be transferred, 
and, in view of the marked deterioration, it was thought best 
to stop the test. The procedure throughout, it should be 
noted, emphasized only specific habits. 



I go EDUCATIONAL VALUES 

7. The Thorndike-Woodworth data, combined with 
inferences of a more theoretical nature, operated to place 
the older form of the doctrine of formal discipHne in a 
dubious light. On the other hand, only a few of the 
more radical educators were willing to repudiate it 
entirely. The fact that, in many of the experiments, a 
transfer was to be noted in individual cases, suggested 
that, after all, there might be a way out of the difficulty. 
The virtues of the doctrine might be retained, even if 
its dogmatic form and its supposed universal validity 
were repudiated. 

8. In the ^'Educative Process," after reviewing the 
experimental evidence then available, the writer sug- 
gested that the transfer of the results of training could 
be accomplished, in some measure, through a process 
of judgment. That is, functions may be improved by 
the application of ideas or procedure and method gained 
in other fields : or, inasmuch as the effective employ- 
ment of any idea as a goal or aim of adjustment depends, 
as has been suggested in previous sections, upon the 
emotional coloring of the idea, it is better to use the 
term ideal to designate the agency that usually accom- 
plishes the transfer. For example, the close thinking 
that is trained in mathematics may come to function in 
other fields, — in political economy or in psychology or 
even in the work of practical, everyday life, — provided 
that one has gained from the study of mathematics a 
certain respect or perhaps even reverence for the rigid, 
clear-cut mathematical method. If mathematics is 



FULFILLING DISCIPLINARY FUNCTIONS I9I 

taught, however, in a purely mechanical fashion, with 
no attempt to make its miethods conscious to pupils or 
to give them an appreciation of the virtues of the method, 
the ''spread" will manifestly be an uncertain quantity. 
Indeed, one may very easily be prejudiced against a 
method by poor teaching, and so resist any temptation 
to apply it to other situations. 

9. That there is something in this point of view aside 
from a theoretical inference has been recently shown 
by Ruediger ^ in a series of tests that took their ''cue" 
from the studies on neatness and accuracy described 
above. 

Ruediger Hmited his study of the influence of ideals of neat- 
ness in improving the written work of seventh-grade school 
children. His tests covered a period of three months and were 
conducted simultaneously in three schools, — one in New 
York City, one in Washington, D.C., and one in the same 
Montana school that had furnished the data for the earlier 
study. As in the earlier experiments, he insisted upon neat- 
ness in the preparation of the papers in one school study. In 
the remaining studies, nothing was said about neatness, but 
during the exercises in which the specific training was being under- 
taken, it was attempted, by talks and discussions about neat- 
ness in general, to develop an ideal of neatness among the pu- 
pils. The papers of two unemphasized subjects were preserved, 
together with the papers in the subject emphasized. All of 
the papers were graded by three experienced persons who had 
been in no way connected with giving the tests (except that 
one of them was Dr. Ruediger himself, who had planned the 

1 W. C. Ruediger: "The Indirect Improvement of Mental Function 
through Ideals," Educational Review, vol. xxxvi, 1908, pp. 364-371- 



192 EDUCATIONAL VALUES 

tests, but who had taken no part in collecting the data). 
The grading was upon the scale of loo and the estimates 
placed independently by the three examiners were sufficiently 
similar to indicate that the judgment of experienced teachers 
in grading papers for neatness can be thoroughly trusted. 
On comparing the marks, it was found that while the gain was 
the greatest in the subject emphasized, there had been a 
very perceptible gain in the subjects unemphasized. For ex- 
ample, in one of the schools, the average grade for neatness 
in the subject emphasized increased during the three months 
of the test from 85.3 per cent to 90.3 per cent, — a gain of 5 
per cent. In the two subjects unemphasized, the gain was 
from 84.5 per cent to 88.5 per cent and from 83.6 per cent 
to 87 per cent respectively, — or gains of 4 per cent and 3.4 per 
cent, as contrasted with the 5 per cent gain in the subject em- 
phasized. These gains were general among all the pupils 
tested (eighty- three pupils in all) and no instance of deteriora- 
tion is noted. 

Ruediger concludes from these data that neatness 
^'rnade conscious as an ideal or aim in connection with 
one school subject does function in other school sub- 
jects." Regarding the use of the term "ideal" to desig- 
nate the agency of transfer, he has this to say: ''The 
experiment touches the question of 'generalized habits' 
which has been a disturbing factor in the problem of 
formal discipline from the beginning. According to psy- 
chological analysis, habits are specific — they cannot 
well be anything else — but according to common obser- 
vation, certain so-called habits appear unquestionably 
to be generalized. Such habits are industry, perse- 
verance, self-reliance, and the like. The cause of the 



FULFILLING DISCIPLINARY FUNCTIONS 1 93 

difficulty here is no doubt largely a verbal one. If, 
instead of the word 'habits,' we should use the word 
'ideals,' much of the difficulty would disappear. Where 
such a function as perseverance is generalized, it is done 
so partly, at least, through conscious effort." 

Ruediger indorses Thorndike's classes of identities 
which condition the transfer of training, but he would 
add a third to cover the operation of this factor of ideals. 
He calls this third identity, ''identity of aim." 

10. It would seem, however, that the conscious factor 
that we have designated by the term "ideal" has a 
wider significance than Ruediger is willing to admit. 
What is trained by a specific discipline is a definite 
response to a definite situation. All will admit that, 
where another situation possesses elements similar to 
those involved in the situation to which the response 
has been trained, the same response may be called 
forth. Under what conditions will it be called forth? 
Obviously, where the similarity is consciously recognized. 
This does not exclude response upon "assimilation" or 
marginal recognition, or even thoroughly unconscious 
and mechanical response; but the experiments seem to 
indicate that these are negligible factors, — that a very 
slight change in the situation will frequently break up 
a pure habit. The problem, from the practical point of 
view, then, becomes this : How may we assure ourselves 
that the pupil will make an effort consciously to search 
out similarities which may be present but which do not 
catch attention at the outset ? If we have trained pupils 



194 EDUCATIONAL VALUES 

to think rigidly in geometry, for example, how shall we 
insure an application of rigid thinking to situations that 
lack the geometrical elements? If we have trained 
pupils to employ certain effective methods in learning 
their lessons in spelling or in geography, how shall we 
insure the application of these effective methods to situa- 
tions that lack the spelling ^^cues" or the geography 
''cues"? Shall we not have the greatest assurance of 
such transfer, if the method has been made to appeal 
to the pupil as something thoroughly worth while, 
thoroughly reliable, thoroughly likely to produce results 
that he is anxious to secure ? And when a method ap- 
peals to a pupil in this way, is not the appeal emotional 
in its nature ? 

II. It is this conscious factor, then, that needs em- 
phasis in all teaching that attempts to do what the 
older doctrine assumed that formal discipline would do. 
This conclusion is confirmed by all of the recent experi- 
ments in the transfer of training. Reference to the 
more important of these will be sufficient at this time. 

{a) The Ehert-Meumann Experiments} Ebert and Meu- 
mann first tested the capacity of their subjects to memorize 
meaningless syllables, series of letters, series of numbers, series 
of one-syllabled nouns, series of foreign words (Italian), stan- 
zas of poetry, visual signs, and prose. The subjects were 

^ E. Ebert and E. Meumann: "Ueber einige Grundfragen der 
Psychologie der Uebungsphanomene im Bereiche des Gedachniss. 
(A). Untersuchungen der Wirkung einseitig mechanischer Uebung auf die 
Gesamtgedachtnisfunktion," Archiv Jur die gesamte Psychologie, vol. iv, 
1904, pp. 1-232. 



FULFILLING DISCIPLINARY FUNCTIONS 1 95 

then subjected to a thorough training upon one of these sets 
of material — meaningless syllables. Upon the completion of 
this training, the capacity for memorizing the other varieties 
of material was tested. It was found that there was, in 
every case, an improvement of capacity. This improvement 
was most marked in the case of the material most closely re- 
lated to nonsense syllables, — that is, in the series of letters, 
numbers, and single words, and least marked in the case of the 
materials having least resemblance to nonsense syllables — 
poetry, prose, and visual signs. The increase in capacity for 
the latter class of materials, however, is much greater than 
one would expect. The capacity for retaining philosophic 
prose was increased 70 per cent, and the memory for visual 
signs was increased 55 per cent. The authors maintain that 
the transfer is due to the sympathetic practice-effect of allied 
functions through the medium of an hypothetical psycho- 
physical factor. Critics ^ of this explanation, however, are 
agreed that this hypothetical element is unnecessary to ex- 
plain the phenomenon, maintaining that the increased abihty 
to concentrate the attention, increased familiarity with and 
habituation to the general laboratory conditions, increase 
of effort to improve the memory, decrease in feehngs of dis- 
comfort and tedium, and conscious improvement of technique 
of learning are sufficient to account for the transfer noted. 

(b) The Coover-Angell Experiments. Coover and Angell 2 
selected for experimentation a set of capacities in which the 
factor of identity of elements was much more thoroughly ehm- 
inated than in the Ebert-Meumann tests. Their first series 

1 For example, G. E. Miiller : Zeitschrift fiir Psychologie, vol. xxxix, 
1905, pp. Ill ff. ; R. S. Woodworth : Journal of Philosophy, Psychology, 
and Scientific Methods, vol. ii, 1905, pp. 137 f.; W. F. Dearborn: School 
Review, vol, xviii, 1910, p. 702. 

2 J. E. Coover and F. Angell : " General Practice Effect of Special 
Exercises," American Journal of Psychology, vol. xviii, 1907, pp. 328-340. 



196 EDUCATIONAL VALUES 

of experiments was undertaken to determine the influence of 
training in discriminating sounds upon the capacity to discrim- 
inate brightness differences (shades of gray). The tests for 
sound were given with a sound-pendulum ; the tests for bright- 
ness were given by means of a Marbe color-mixer. A control 
experiment was introduced to determine the influence of the 
preliminary tests and of the time-interval in any improve- 
ment that might be noted. Out of four subjects trained in the 
discrimination of sounds, three showed that some of this train- 
ing had been carried over to the discrimination of brightness. 
One did not improve at all in discriminating sounds, and his 
second brightness-test showed a deterioration from his first 
brightness-test. 

A second series of experiments was undertaken to deter- 
mine what influence training in sorting cards would have 
upon ability to react properly upon a typewriter to certain 
letters which were exposed to the subject's view. A control 
experiment was also carried on to eUminate the factor of the 
"hibernation" period. It was found that the time of the 
typewriter reaction was decreased by the training in sorting 
cards, but that the errors were increased. 

Coover and Angell explain the transfer of training in the 
first series of experiments as a divesting of the essential process 
of its unessential factors, a freeing of judgments from illusions, 
and the attaining of a more uniform state of attention which is 
less than the maximum. The more economic adaptation of 
attention is especially emphasized. It should be noted that 
all of the experiments were accompanied by introspective 
reports, consequently the cause of the improvement could be 
determined with much greater certainty than in the case of 
most of the experiments on transfer. The improvement dis- 
covered by the second series of experiments is explained by 
three factors : (i) the formation of a habit of reacting directly 
to a stimulus without useless kinaesthetic, acoustic, and motor 



FULFILLING DISCIPLINARY FUNCTIONS 1 97 

accompaniments of recognition, which results (2) in an equi- 
table distribution of attention to the various possible reactions 
so as to be about equally prepared for all ; and (3) the conse- 
quent power of concentrating the attention throughout the 
whole series without distraction. 

{c) Winch's Experiments. W. H. Winch, an English psy- 
chologist, has been one of the most ardent advocates of the 
older view that memory is a general function and that it can be 
trained by appropriate formal exercises. In 1 904, he published 
the results of a series of experiments which to his mind sub- 
stantiated this position. He had children memorize Hsts of 
12 consonants which were exposed to view for 25 seconds, and 
which they were to reproduce immediately afterward. Ten 
lists were learned on one day, ten more a week later, and ten 
more three weeks after the first. Improvement from week to 
week was shown by most of the children, and the author con- 
cluded from this that their general power of memory was in- 
creased. It seems clear, however, that better methods of 
learning and better adaptation to the conditions of the experi- 
ment and, perhaps, the influence of the incubation period, 
could have accounted for the improvement. 

More recently, however. Winch has undertaken some ex- 
periments which were much more carefully planned and exe- 
cuted.^ He tested pupils in the early adolescent period — 
pupils ranging in age from eleven years to fifteen years, 
averaging thirteen years. Instead of testing the same group 
of pupils before and after training and so determining the in- 
fluence of the training. Winch introduced a new method of 
making this determination. He divided the pupils into two 
groups of approximately equal ability in memory. This di- 

1 W. H. Winch: "The Transfer of Improvement in Memory in 
School Children," British Journal of Psychology, vol. ii, pt. Ill, 1908, 
pp. 284-293. .. - 



198 EDUCATIONAL VALUES 

vision was made partly on the basis of an actual test, partly 
on the basis of the teacher's judgment of their abilities. Both 
groups contained the same number of pupils. Both were 
tested on their ability to memorize a passage from an histori- 
cal reading book, their abiUty being measured by the amount 
that could be reproduced immediately after fifteen minutes of 
study. Members of the first group were trained during the 
next week or two in memorizing poetry, the members of the 
second group being occupied at the same time with problems 
in arithmetic. Otherwise the school work was the same 
for both. After the period of training was completed, the 
two groups were brought together and subjected to a second 
test in memorizing a selection from an historical reader. It 
was found that the first group that had received the training 
in memorizing poetry did much better in this final test than 
the second group who had missed this training. The author 
comes to the following conclusion : "Improvement gained by 
practice in memorizing one subject is transferred to memory 
work in other subjects whose nature is certainly diverse from 
that in which the improvement was* gained." 

It will be noted, however, that the nature of subject-matter 
is not so diverse as to exclude altogether the operation of 
identical elements, nor is the difference between the two groups 
in memory capacity at the close of the test so great that one 
needs to assume that a "general" function of memory has been 
trained. The factors emphasized by Mliller and Woodworth 
in connection with the Ebert-Meumann tests apply with 
even greater force to the conclusions of Winch. 

(d) Fracker's Experiments. These investigations were 
made at the University of lowa.^ The training series consisted 
in memorizing the order of four tones. The test series were 

1 G. C. Fracker: "On the Transference of Training in Memory," 
Monograph Supplement, Psychological Review, vol. ix, 1909, pp. 56-102. 



FULFILLING DISCIPLINARY FUNCTIONS 1 99 

eight in number, as follows : (i) memory for poetry ; (2) mem- 
ory for the order of four shades of gray ; (3) memory for the 
order of nine tones ; (4) memory for the order of nine shades 
of gray ; (5) memory for the order of four tones ; (6) mem- 
ory for the order of nine geometrical figures; (7) memory 
for the order of nine numbers ; (8) memory for the extent 
of arm movement. The results of this investigation show 
very clear evidence of a transfer of training, the improvement 
in the second test-series appearing to be dependent upon the 
conscious control of the best methods of memorizing. To 
quote from the author's summary : ''Improvement seems to 
depend upon the consistent use of some form of imagery. . . . 
The rate of improvement seems to depend directly upon the 
conscious recognition of the imagery, and upon attention to its 
tise. ... It seems . . . that a conscious effort to use the 
elements of training in a different task assists in making the 
transfer." ^ 

{e) Ruger^s Experiments. From the Columbia University 
psychological laboratory we have a very interesting series of 
experiments reported by H. A. Ruger.^ The investigation 
aimed at an analysis of ''human methods of meeting relatively 
novel situations and of reducing their control to acts of skill." 
The method employed was an introspective account of the 
observers' mental processes in solving mechanical puzzles. 
The investigation had a much wider purpose than merely to 
throw light upon the problem of transfer, but several series of 
tests were employed with this specific end in view. The 
author reached the following conclusions: "7w general, the 
value of specific habits under a change of conditions depended 
directly on the presence of a general idea which would serve for 



^ G. C. Fracker, op. ciL, pp. 101-102. (Italics mine.) 
2 H. A. Ruger: "The Psychology of Efficiency," Archives of Psy' 
chology, No. 15, 1910. 



200 EDUCATIONAL VALUES 

their control. . . . No evidence was secured in favor of 
an automatic change in the level of attention, but there were 
indications of its indirect control by means of ideals of what 
constituted an efficient state of attention. . . . The great 
significance of ideals of method has perhaps been suffi- 
ciently emphasized. This significance was especially striking 
in proportion as the situation in question was distinctly novel. 
The ideal of efficiency as a goal to be reached, the ideals of 
scientific method, and the ideal of an optimum personal 
attitude were among the most important of these." ^ 

12. In all of these experimental investigations, then, 
it is the factor of conscious transfer that stands out 
sharp and clear as the determining agent in whatever 
''spread" of the results of training may be detected. 
So convincing is this evidence that both Heck ^ and 
Ruediger ^ — even prior to the publication of Ruger's 
results — acknowledged unreservedly the probability 
that conscious transfer is the most satisfactory solution of 
the problem of formal discipline, although, very curiously, 
both of these writers subscribe to the narrow doctrine of 
specific discipline; that is, while they admit the possi- 
bility of transfer, they maintain that the subjects of 
the elementary and secondary curriculums should be 
chosen primarily on the basis of the value of the facts 
and principles represented, rather than upon the basis 
of the ideals that may be indirectly engendered. Heck ^ 

^ H. A. Ruger, op. ciL, pp. 19-20. 

2 W. H. Heck : Menial Discipline and Educational Values, New York, 
1909. (An excellent discussion of the conscious factor.) 

' W. C. Ruediger : Principles of Education, Boston, 1910, ch. vi. 
* Op. ciL, ch. vi. 



FULFILLING DISCIPLINARY FUNCTIONS 201 

also objects to the importance that the present writer 
placed upon the emotional element in insuring transfer. 
He prefers to call the agency of transfer a ''concept of 
method ' ' rather than an ideal . This criticism has already 
been answered in the foregoing discussion, and, in any 
case, Ruger's results effectually invalidate it. Colvin,^ 
while admitting the primacy of conscious transfer, still 
holds to the possibility of a generalized habit, but he 
has not, as yet, adduced experimental evidence in sup- 
port of this contention. 

13. There may be some mysterious factor involved 
which would work toward a transfer of training, even if 
the organism were reduced to the basis of an automa- 
ton; the convenient category of the subconscious 
may, if one wishes, be brought in to obscure our view, 
and justify conclusions that would otherwise be un- 
tenable ; but it is difficult to see in what way educational 
practice would profit by either of these solutions of the 
problem. On the other hand, the recognition of the 
conscious factor as the chief agency in the transfer of 
training leaves us in a very much more favorable situa- 
tion than that which confronted us when we expressed 
the disciplinary value in general and indefinite terms. 
In other words, this formulation furnishes a ''cue for con- 
duct " in that it indicates very clearly the method that must he 
pursued if the chances oj transfer are to he made worth con- 
sidering. The controversy over formal discipline has, con- 
sequently, resulted in an important practical suggestion. 

1 Colvin, op. cit., pp. 23 ff. 



202 EDUCATIONAL VALUES 

For example, it would be quite inconsistent from this point 
of view to teach mathematics for the purpose of mental disci- 
pline without taking expUcit steps to insure upon the part of 
the pupil an appreciation of mathematical method. It is in 
this precision of analysis that the discipHnary value of mathe- 
matics admittedly inheres, but one might master mathematics 
through all its branches without becoming conscious of the 
worth of this virtue. As Young ^ so clearly points out, the 
common method of teaching algebra and geometry, while it 
may issue in a conventional mastery of the facts and principles, 
does very little to realize the disciplinary value that inheres in 
mathematical study. 

Similarly in the teaching of natural science, unless the pupil 
or the student is led to see the worth of scientific procedure 
through which laws are finally established, it is not to be ex- 
pected that his 'draining" in science will protect him from 
hasty generalizations and unfounded inferences in other 
fields. 

Certainly one of the most unfortunate results of the ''fin- 
ished" form in which both mathematical and scientific truths 
are presented lies in the very fact that the methods through 
which these results have been gained are seldom or never 
made conscious to the student. The narrowly utilitarian 
values may be sufficiently realized by their mastery : as far 
as the direct application of facts and principles is concerned, 
the direct presentation of the facts and principles may suflSce. 
But the unique values of these subjects are of a different order, 
and require a different procedure if they are adequately to 
be reahzed. 

14. The method and especially the spirit of instruc- 
tion and training are the all-important factors in the 

1 J. W. A. Young: The Teaching of Mathematics, New York, 1907, 
P- 39- 



FULFILLING DISCIPLINARY FUNCTIONS 2O3 

fulfillment of disciplinary functions. The aim in such 
instruction and training must be to make conscious to 
the student or the pupil the characteristic virtues of the 
methods through which the facts are discovered, the 
principles induced, the situations solved, and the habits 
formed. The value of carrying the pupil through the 
discipline must be looked upon as chiefly giving him a 
clear-cut demonstration of the virtues that the method 
possesses. This will not be inconsistent, of course, with 
fulfilling other functions. The materials of mathe- 
matics, for example, used primarily to promote the ends 
of discipline, may, at the same time, be intrinsically 
valuable to the individual from the point of view of 
the instructional, the training, the interpretive, or the 
recreative function; but if mental discipline, in this 
revised meaning of the term, is the thing that is sought, 
then all other functions must, of course, be subordinate 
to the disciplinary function, and methods inconsistent 
with fulfilling this function, however well they may ful- 
fill any or all of these other functions, must be rigidly 
excluded. 

. 15. This leads to what is perhaps the crux of the 
problem of disciplinary values, once it is admitted that 
such values may be realized. The question has often 
been raised: Are there any subjects in the curriculum 
in which the function may be said to be predominantly 
disciplinary? In other words, can we justify in the 
curriculum materials that fulfill a disciplinary function 
and that alone ? This question is of paramount impor- 



204 EDUCATIONAL VALUES 

tance at the present time because, as has already been 
suggested, the school is being subjected to a most per- 
sistent demand for the inclusion in its curriculum of 
facts and principles that fulfill a clearly apparent in- 
structional function. It is easy to see that a most 
troublesome conflict between opposing functions is likely 
to occur if one answers the above question affirm- 
atively. 

Granting for the moment that ideals of close and rigid 
thinking may emerge from the study of pure mathe- 
matics, and granting for the moment that the value of 
the facts and principles gained from such study is neg- 
ligible so far as the average pupil is concerned, is it 
possible to justify the teaching of mathematics upon a 
discipKnary basis pure and simple ? A similar question 
may legitimately be raised in connection with pure 
science and with the ''dead" languages. What light 
will the principles proposed in the present chapter throw 
upon this problem ? 

1 6. It will be profitable to put the arguments, pro 
and con J in the form of ''briefs" which summarize the 
results of applying to these questions the principle of 
transfer through ideals. The contention between the 
advocates of pure science on the one hand and of 
applied science upon the other hand may be chosen as 
typical. The brief for pure science may be stated in 
the following propositions. 

{a) When the general welfare and progress of human society 
is made the ultimate criterion for measuring educational 



FULFILLING DISCIPLINARY FUNCTIONS 20$ 

values, it is clear at once that the facts and principles of science, 
important as they are, do not approach in significance the 
spirit and the ideals of the scientific method, (i) The appU- 
cabiHty of facts and principles to economic problems is very 
largely dependent upon the speciaUzed function that one is 
called upon to fulfill in the division of labor. (2) Facts and 
principles stand in no danger of "missing a link" in trans- 
mission from generation to generation ; they are crystallized 
in books, in inventions, and in other culture-products. On the 
other hand, (i) the method and spirit of science are uni- 
versally appUcable ; every individual may profitably approach 
the problems that he has to solve, no matter in what field he 
may work, with the scientific attitude of mind. And (2) 
while facts and principles stand in no danger of "missing a 
link" in transmission, the ideals and spirit of science must 
be kept alive from generation to generation. 

{b) The point of view in applied science is primarily utili- 
tarian. This "practical " attitude undoubtedly tends to color 
every other consideration. The virtues of the scientific 
method are not practiced for their own sake, but for an ulte- 
rior motive ; consequently the emotional force that is essential 
to animate those virtues — to make them ideals that will be 
"carried over" to other fields — will attach rather to the 
narrower ideals of utility and economic expediency. " Short- 
cuts" and propositions accepted upon authority are often 
effectively applied to economic problems, and the existence 
of such a condition cannot fail to mihtate against the fulfill- 
ment of the unique disciplinary functions. 

(c) AppHed science, emphasizing as it does the utiHtarian 
values, will inevitably demand quantity rather than quahty 
in the work demanded of students. With the better and more 
capable students, the discipline may come in spite of haste. 
With the average student, the longer and more penetrating 
processes from which the perception of the unique value of 



206 EDUCATIONAL VALUES 

scientific method will emerge with the greatest certainty 
will be omitted. The mastery will be upon the basis of the 
synthetic method (which may very well serve utilitarian 
ends) rather than upon the basis of the analytic or heuristic 
method (from which alone the recognition of the true worth 
of the ideals of science can emanate). 

(d) Finally the organic structure of a pure science is much 
better adapted to the engendering of ideals of method than 
the unsystematic character of the appHed science, — unsystem- 
atic in that the organization is imposed from without, and is 
not a logical development from within. The appKed science 
is often a "hodge-podge" of facts and principles that are 
related to one another only through their appHcation to 
certain phases of industrial Hfe. The pure science is a coher- 
ent body of facts and principles, each of wliich is naturally 
or inherently related to all the others. As the student pro- 
gresses gradually from unit to unit, he should pass through a 
series of experiences which have a .cumulative effect. The 
long process of gradual mastery finally leaves him with a com- 
pletely organized system, and the respect that he has acquired 
for the method (and which is so important in the development 
of an effective ideal) will be a function, in part at least, of the 
coherence and logical completeness of the system, as well as of 
the time and effort that he has put into the mastery. The 
situation is not unUke that which is presented in the apprecia- 
tion of art. The soul of art is its organic unity, — its complete 
subordination of details to the central theme. The keenest 
joys of appreciation come when one has paid the price of effort, 
and has worked through the successive steps of analyzing the 
details until the beauty of the work as a whole dawns upon 
one. Pure science is a similar organic unity, and its gradual 
mastery will induce similar emotional effects and thus con- 
tribute essentially to the vitaUzing of the ideals of scientific 
method. 



FULFILLING DISCIPLINARY FUNCTIONS 207 

17. In what way will the advocate of applied science 
answer these arguments? In the first place, let us 
assume that he will grant the social importance of dis- 
seminating in as wide a circle as possible the ideals of 
scientific procedure. The argument in this case seems 
incontestable, and the efforts of this advocate must be 
to prove that a curriculum of science in which the factor 
of economic application is emphasized may at the same 
time fulfill the disciplinary function as well as, or per- 
haps better than, a curriculum of pure science. 

(a) Obviously the first attack will be against the assump- 
tion that an emphasis of economic applications necessarily 
precludes the development of effective ideals of scientific 
procedure. This is a question of fact, and the recourse must 
be to cases which show that utility and the scientific spirit are 
not inconsistent. There is at least one investigation of this 
question, the results of which, while not at all conclusive, are 
sufficiently significant to warrant shifting the burden of evi- 
dence to the other side. J. P. Gilbert ^ divided a class in sec- 
ondary zoology into two sections. One of these sections he 
subjected to instruction of the pure-science type ; the other to 
instruction in which the economic applications of the science 
were persistently and systematically emphasized. At the 
close of the semester, both sections were subjected to several 
tests which were designed to determine whether one section 
had made greater progress in the appreciation of and control 
over scientific method than had the other section. While 
both sections were small, and while other conditions were such 
as to preclude the drawing of general inferences, the results 

1 J. P. Gilbert : "An Experiment on Methods of Teaching Zoology," 
Journal of Educational Psychology^ vol. i, 1910, pp. 321 ff. 



208 EDUCATIONAL VALUES 

for the pupils tested were unequivocally in favor of an appKed- 
science approach, even when the desired outcome is an appre- 
ciation of scientific method. 

(6) A possible explanation of this probability will serve 
as an answer to the argument that the emotional force neces- 
sary to vitalize the ideals is most' effectively furnished by a 
course that is coherent and logically arranged, and thus pro- 
vides an aesthetic appeal. While this contention may be theo- 
retically justified, it is much more probable that the emphasis 
of economic apphcations will make a much more forcible 
and a much more general appeal, and thus serve more ef- 
fectively to give point and vitaUty to the ideas of method and 
procedure and thus turn them into ideals. After all, the 
prime source of emotional factors is the fundamental needs of 
the individual, and the next most proUfic source is humanity 
and its needs. When a high-school pupil finds that a rigidly 
controlled method of procedure, coupled with a rigorous 
exclusion of irrelevant factors, including his own prejudice 
and bias, gains results that are of service to him and to the 
race, it is Hkely that he will have much more effective respect 
for the method and its rigorous quaHties than he would gain if 
it were attempted to carry him through a series of experiences 
ending in the contemplation of a logical and coherent body of 
facts and principles. 

(c) And this leads to another objection to the assumption 
of the first advocate. The average student, undergoing a pro- 
cess of general education, is not likely to pursue the study of 
any one science long enough to gain the results hypothesized. 
What is food for strong men is not easily assimilated by in- 
fants, and materials abstracted from the warmth and vigor 
of human relationships are likely to engender negative rather 
than positive prejudices in respect of the methods which they 
represent. 

(d) To the argument that an economic emphasis will de- 



FULFILLING DISCIPLINARY FUNCTIONS 209 

mand quantity rather than quality, the second advocate may 
well reply that this condition is not inevitable, and that the 
point and vitaUty furnished by the economic emphasis will, 
if rightly directed, make analytic and heuristic teaching much 
easier and much more effective than it would be otherwise. 

18. At every point, the advocate of applied science 
seems to have the better of the argument, — so long as 
he limits his plea to the approach, and so long as he 
recognizes the immanence of the method and spirit of 
science as compared with its facts and principles. He 
may well maintain that the method and spirit have no 
meaning except as productive of facts and principles, 
and that if such facts and principles can be so chosen 
as to represent a maximum of utility without at the same 
time interfering with the fulfillment of the disciplinary 
functions, it is economy to make the choice on this basis. 

19. The arguments adduced above might be applied 
to the question concerning the justification of mathe- 
matics as materials of general education. It is evident, 
however, that the two cases are not precisely parallel. 
In the first place, it may be maintained that the unique 
character of mathematical discipline lies in the very 
fact of its abstractness ; in the second place, it may be 
maintained that the logical coherence of mathematical 
reasoning is much more obvious than that of science, 
and that the sanction which the contemplation of a 
coherent body of facts and principles may give to the 
ideals of method and procedure will attach to the study 
of mathematics much more readily than to a study of 



210 EDUCATIONAL VALUES 

the natural sciences. On the other hand, there can be 
little doubt that, even here, the factor of concrete and 
economic application would add vitality to the pupil's 
conception of the method. The danger would lie in an 
overemphasis of the applied phases and a failure to 
draw attention consciously and explicitly to the funda- 
mental fact that it is the rigid " clear-cut-ness " of the 
method that makes the results possible. This, after all, 
is the important step if disciplinary functions are ade- 
quately to be fulfilled either in science or in mathe- 
matics. 

20. It may safely be concluded, then, that the dis- 
ciplinary and instructional functions of science and 
mathematics are not entirely inconsistent with one an- 
other. The solution of the problem lies very largely in 
the attitude of teacher and pupil toward the materials 
in question. The practical phases may be emphasized 
in the course of a treatment that will satisfactorily meet 
the cultural and disciplinary demands. On the whole, 
this is perhaps the safer policy.^ But even if applied 
science is taught as such, there are numerous methods 
by means of which many of the virtues inherent in the 
pure forms may still be represented. An insistent 
attempt to keep the broad outlook will mitigate in a 
measure the tendency of industrial science to become 

1 T. J. McCormack, in an admirable paper {Why Do We Study Mathe- 
matics? Cedar Rapids, Iowa, The Torch Press, igio), suggests that both 
the pure and the apphed forms of mathematics should receive emphasis 
in the schools, — the former to meet "intellectual needs," the latter to 
meet "economic needs." 



FULFILLING DISCIPLINARY FUNCTIONS 211 

immersed in narrowing and sordid motives. The quali- 
tative aspect of the work can, under the proper direction, 
be made to appeal to the pupil as a much more im- 
portant factor than the quantitative aspect. And 
finally, coherent organization, while not approaching the 
measure of perfection that the pure forms present, is 
still possible in a degree that will insure some of the 
advantages named above. 

21. The unique disciplinary functions that are sup- 
posed to be fulfilled by the study of the ancient lan- 
guages are distinguished from those assumed for pure 
mathematics and pure science in at least one important 
particular. They are much more difiicult to fulfill with 
the average pupil taught by the average teacher. The 
nice distinctions that are made possible by the highly 
inflected character of Latin and especially Greek are, in 
the literature of those languages, made the vehicles of 
equally subtle distinctions of thought. There can be no 
reasonable doubt that the right kind of training in 
recognizing these distinctions may, as the classicists 
maintain, be transferred to other varieties of mental 
activity. If our hj^othesis is correct, however, — if 
the possibility of transfer is conditioned by a recog- 
nition on the part of the pupil of the vital worth of 
the process, — it must be admitted that the average 
teacher does not accomplish the desired end with the 
average pupil in nearly so marked a measure as the 
analogous end is accomplished in mathematics and 
science. The reason is not far to seek. The apprecia- 



212 EDUCATIONAL VALUES 

tion of the value of the distinctions can come effectively 
only when one sees the relation between the content and 
the form. As a matter of fact, the proportion of pupils 
who ever come to an adequate appreciation of the 
literary content of the ancient languages is admitted by 
the classicists themselves to be deplorably low. 

22. Another factor must also be considered in this 
connection. With the organization of the sciences, a 
vast amount of culture material has been introduced 
into the educational curriculum which is recognized as 
possessing unquestioned value and which demands 
a large amount of the pupils' time and energy in 
its mastery. Much of this is now coming to be de- 
manded from a conventional point of view; its value 
is clearly apparent to the pupil at an early stage of 
the instruction. On the other hand, the period of 
time that must elapse before a pupil can appreciate 
classic literature in a degree sufficient to permit a reali- 
zation of its unique values is inordinately long and the 
requisite effort is inordinately severe. The question is 
really not one of the absolute worth of classical study; 
it is rather one of relative worth. If the intrinsic values 
of the classics, — that is, the values accruing to the in- 
structional and inspirational functions of the thought- 
content itself, — can be gained in some measure through 
translations as well as through the originals, the unique 
disciplinary function will be left as the last support of 
extended classical study. Place this discipline as high 
as one will, it still seems quite impossible to make it 



FULFILLING DISCIPLINARY FUNCTIONS 213 

justify any extended study of the classics in their original 
form as a necessary part of general education. As has 
been indicated, some study of Latin may be made to 
fulfill an important training function in improving one's 
control of the mother-tongue, and from the pupils who 
undergo this training, some will be selected who will 
have the taste and capacity to pursue the subject to a 
point where its unique and important disciplinary possi- 
bilities will be richly realized. 

It is well, however, to suspend judgment upon this 
question until it is definitely proved that the inspira- 
tional and instructional functions noted above either 
can or cannot be adequately fulfilled through transla- 
tions. The a priori contentions against this possibihty 
are not convincing ; ^ but the ideals and standards which 
the Greeks and Romans wrought out of their experience 
and crystallized so clearly in their literature are too 
important a part of the culture heritage of the race to 
permit education to incur any risk in their transmission. 
The relative worth of ''translations" and ''originals" 
should be subjected to a most careful and extended 
experimental study. This problem is far from insoluble 
by the methods that experimental education even now 
possesses. 

23. At the close of Chapter XII, a tentative list of 
the ideals that may be directly engendered by educative 

^ Cf. W. T, Harris, Proceedings, N. E. A., 1901, pp. 145 ff. ; also 
P. Shorey, " The Case for the Classics," School Review, vol. xviii, 1910, 
pp. 585-617, especially p. 590. Professor Shorey's contention, however, 
touches only the disciplinary function. 



214 EDUCATIONAL VALUES 

materials was presented. Some of these will probably 
be more effectively fixed through the more indirect 
disciplinary processes, and some not included in the 
former list may be assumed to require the disciplinary 
process for their adequate development. It will be 
well, therefore, to add another tentative list which will 
include many of the valuable ideals and prejudices that 
may result from the fulfillment of disciplinary functions. 

I. Ideals of scientific method. 

(a) Unprejudiced observation and induction. (The 

term "unprejudiced" is certain to confuse when 
used in so close a juxtaposition v/ith the term 
"prejudice," which represents the very desirable 
outcome of a disciplinary process ; this antithesis, 
however, is only apparent ; as a matter of fact, 
every true scientist is "prejudiced" in favor of 
the scientific method ; the problem is always, not 
to read prejudice out of life, — this were impos- 
sible even if we wished to do so, — but to select 
our prejudices with due caution, and judge their 
worth just as we judge the worth of ideas and 
habits; and the kind of prejudice that science 
reads out of its procedure is simply the kind that 
experience has shown to interfere with the desired 
results ; personal bias for or against the possible 
outcome of an experiment is accordingly prohib- 
ited, but the scientist is not obliged to discard 
all prejudices, — to do this would be to commit 
mental suicide.) 

(b) Rigidity of reasoning. 

(c) Logical procedure. (The ideal schemata of logical 

analysis obviously belong here.) 



FULFILLING DISCIPLINARY FUNCTIONS 21 5 

(d) Caution in making inferences and drawing conclu- 

sions. 

(e) The disposition to accept what is proved to be true 

no matter how ruthlessly it may upset one's 

previous conceptions, or override one's most 

cherished hopes. 
(/) Ideals of validity (especially engendered through 

practice in weighing evidence). 
II. Ideals of method and procedure which are not to be identi- 
fied especially with the scientific method but which may 
obviously result from the operation of specific disci- 
plines. 

(a) Neatness. 

(b) Promptness. 

(c) Accuracy. 

(d) Application, diligence, effort. 

(e) Ideals of methods of study. 
(/) Initiative. 

(g) Self-confidence. 



CHAPTER XIII 

Values to be Realized in Fulfilling Recreative 
Functions 

I. A social value that materials of education may 
possess is that in virtue of which the individual is led 
to seek pleasure and relaxation upon a plane higher 
than he would be able to attain without the aid of an 
educative process. While one cannot wholly disagree 
with Spencer's assertion ^ that the activities that make 
for self-preservation should be first considered in con- 
structing the curriculum, the relation between the two 
types of activity seems to be much closer and more 
intimate than Spencer recognized. Enjoyment is more 

^ Cf . Education J pp. 74 f . : " We yield to none in the value we attach 
to aesthetic culture and its pleasures. Without painting, sculpture, 
music, poetry, and the emotions produced by natural beauty of every 
kind, life would lose half its charm. So far from thinking that the train- 
ing and gratification of the tastes are imiraportant, we believe that the 
time will come when they will occupy a much larger share of human 
life than now. . . . But it is one thing to admit that aesthetic culture 
is in a high degree conducive to human happiness, and another thing to 
admit that it is a fundamental requisite to human happiness. However 
important it may be, it must yield precedence to those kinds of culture 
which bear more directly upon the duties of life. . . . Accomplishments, 
the fine arts, belles lelires, and all those things which, as we say, constitute 
the eflBorescence of civilization, should be wholly subordinate to that 
knowledge and discipline on which civiHzation rests. As they occupy the 
leisure part of life, so dwuld they occupy the leisure part oj education.''' 

216 



FULFILLING RECREATIVE FUNCTIONS 21 7 

than an accessory in life. It is a necessity ; and it is a 
necessity because efficiency in economic and social adjust- 
ments depends in no small measure upon the tastes, 
sentiments, and prejudices that control the adjustment 
of one's leisure moments. 

2. The justification of fulfilling recreative functions 
may take several forms, of which two may be instanced 
as typical : {a) The relation between efficiency of adjust- 
ment and the amount of available energy that is at the 
disposal of the organism is obviously direct and un- 
equivocal. That a pleasurable state of mind, — a con- 
dition of relative happiness and buoyancy, — increases 
the availability of energy is adequately proved by psy- 
chological experiment. Even a slightly pleasant stimu- 
lus will measurably increase pulse-rate, blood-flow, and 
depth of breathing, and consequently augment me- 
tabolism; while a slightly unpleasant stimulus will de- 
crease these activities and consequently diminish me- 
tabolism. Hence, anything that will make for increased 
buoyancy will, other things equal, make for increased 
efficiency. 

The limitation, however, is apparent, and it is in the 
limitation that the justification of recreative values in- 
heres. One may seek pleasures of a low order or pleas- 
ures of a high order. One may follow the dictates of 
primitive impulse, or one may, if means of higher 
pleasure have been developed, turn to these for 
relaxation from the workaday activities. The gratifi- 
cation of primitive impulses will, if persisted in, defeat 



2l8 EDUCATIONAL VALUES 

the purpose of relaxation; instead of increasing the 
availabiHty of energy, sensual pleasures will, in the long 
run, tend in the opposite direction. On the other hand, 
while the delights that inhere in the higher aesthetic 
enjoyment of art and literature and nature may be in- 
dulged to excess and so come to be ends in themselves, 
the danger is manifestly less than in the case of sensual 
pleasures. The emplo)mient of educational forces in the 
development of the higher types of pleasure and recrea- 
tion is consequently thoroughly justified, even upon the 
basis of the crassest ''practical" philosophy. 

3. (b) A second type of justification leads through 
rather more devious channels. The social life demands 
a readjustment of individual tastes, appetites, and 
desires, — a readjustment for which the organism has 
not as yet become "naturally" adapted. That is, man 
has instinctive tendencies that need a certain degree of 
gratification in their own right, and irrespective of any 
bearing that they may have upon social life, save that 
denying the gratification will render the social and 
practical adjustments less efiicient than they would be 
otherwise. Just as religion is justified for other reasons 
than simply that it is a moral agency, — just as religion 
answers a deep and fundamental human need, irre- 
spective of its broader socializing tendencies, — so the 
higher forms of enjoyment satisfy a need that is, in 
some individuals, just as fundamental. The social cri- 
terion need not be disregarded even in this justifica- 
tion, which seems so largely an individualistic matter. 



FULFILLING RECREATIVE FUNCTIONS 219 

As has been pointed out above, social and economic 
adjustments would be less efficient if this value were 
not realized. While the individual must live for the 
race, and while individual action must be consistent 
with social welfare, this principle would defeat its own 
purpose were it blind to the fact that the individual 
must live his own life and that the rewards of this life 
must be individually as well as socially worth while. 
The task of socializing education is to see to it that the 
individual develops tastes, the gratification of which is 
consistent with social welfare, and that, through lack 
of stimulus and exercise, the tastes that are inconsistent 
with this welfare be allowed to atrophy. 

It is an acute observation that the real test of a man's 
character is not the way in which he does his daily work, but 
the manner in which he spends his leisure. Like all aphorisms, 
it probably overshoots the mark, but it certainly reveals a very 
important factor that is likely to be neglected in education, 
especially when education labors under the stress of increas- 
ingly heavy demands for ''practical " instruction and training. 
There can be little doubt that some forms of social ineffi- 
ciency owe their existence to the neglect of this factor. The 
almost incredibly large amount of money that is annually 
expended in providing amusement for the "masses" must be 
regarded on the whole as an economic waste. Certainly it 
does not return in heightened buoyancy and increased efl5- 
ciency an adequate dividend upon the investment. The 
spectacular methods of enjoyment always tend to be demor- 
aHzing, — to degenerate rather than to uplift. The appeal 
to the lower instincts is profitable because the lower instincts 
are the common property of all. The appeal to cultivated 



220 EDUCATIONAL VALUES 

tastes is far less profitable because cultivated tastes 
are both specialized and uncommon. The task of educa- 
tion is to cultivate tastes of the higher orders, but appreci- 
ably to raise the standard of the masses is a Herculean under- 
taking. Certainly the forces of education seem so far to have 
had little influence in this direction. 

4. What materials of education are available for the 
purpose of fulfilling appreciative and recreative func- 
tions? Literature, art, and music naturally come first 
to mind. If tastes can be developed that will be satisfied 
by the best (and only by the best) that art in any of its 
forms can provide, a long step has been taken in the right 
direction. With respect to art, literature, and music, it 
cannot be said that educational" activities having as their 
purpose the development of such tastes have been emi- 
nently successful. Literature has been ''taught" with 
this end in view for a generation, at least ; and, while 
some success has undoubtedly crowned the efforts of ex- 
ceptionally capable teachers, it is hardly to be doubted 
that as many pupils have been turned in quite the opposite 
direction from that desired. For the time, energy, and 
money expended in the teaching of music in American 
schools, therp has been a very small return in musical ap- 
preciation. 'Art, as we have already intimated, does not 
lend itself to the ordinary methods of presentation, as do 
literature and music, and hence has seldom been seriously 
attempted from the point of view of appreciation. Where 
it has been ''taught" with this purpose, the results have 
perhaps been more encouraging. 



FULFILLING RECREATIVE FUNCTIONS 221 

5. The reasons that lie back of these admitted inade- 
quacies cannot be exhaustively treated in this place, but 
certain broad principles may be noted, (a) The tech-i 
nique of teaching has hitherto concerned itself almost ex- 
clusively with that phase of the educative process that 
we have termed ''instruction" rather than with the phase 
of ''appreciation." The orthodox methods of presenta- 
tion are didactic and "intellectual "; their essence lies in 
the very fact that the emotional factors are placed in 
the background. While methods of instruction that are 
measurably effective in promoting the ends of instruction 
have been developed and applied, it has not been gen- 
erally recognized that these methods are valid only with 
reference to the subjects that are instructional in their 
function. They have been extended to cover every other 
possible phase or aspect of the educative process. Con- 
sequently, when the demand came for the teaching of liter- 
ature and art, the first recourse was to apply the methods 
with which teachers were already familiar and which they 
had used successfully in other fields. The recreative 
functions of music, literature, and art can never be ade- 
quately fulfilled until teachers have mastered the tech- 
nique of teaching for appreciation. Unfortunately, this 
variety of technique has not yet been reduced to an organ- 
ized body of principles; consequently it is difficult to 
train teachers in this phase of their work. A beginning 
has been made, however, in the mere recognition that 
there is such a form of school exercise as an "apprecia- 
tion lesson," ^ and there are certain principles of technique 
* Cf. p. 63 above. 



222 EDUCATIONAL VALUES 

that can be derived merely from the implications of this 
name. 

6. (b) Another factor that has militated against the 
realization of the recreative values has its basis in an un- 
justifiable extension of a principle which, if limited to its 
proper sphere, is thoroughly valid. It is true that school 
tasks must not appeal to the pupil as "soft" or "easy.'' 
If they do, his respect for them is lessened, and whatever 
he may gain, he is likely to look upon them as possessing 
little value. There is no principle of education upon 
which experienced teachers are more thoroughly agreed 
than this. On the other hand, when school tasks are 
given an artificial difficulty because of this principle, it is 
equally certain that one's purpose will be defeated. The 
teaching of the subjects that should fulfill recreative func- 
tions has suffered from this factor. In the high schools 
and colleges, particularly, the competition among the 
various departments often impels the teachers of litera- 
ture and art to place unnecessary difficulties in the pupil's 
way to the end that these subjects may command the 
respect that readily accrues to mathematics, the sciences, 
and other subjects intrinsically "harder." These diffi- 
culties consist sometimes in the compilation of elaborate 
notebooks, at other times in a tedious tracing out of al- 
lusions and hidden meanings by the aid of "notes," 
* ' glossaries, ' ' and ' ^ annotations' ' ; but perhaps the method 
most disastrous to the realization of recreative values is 
the giving of long assignments under the impression, 
evidently, that the efifort involved in overcoming quanti- 



FULFILLING RECREATIVE FUNCTIONS 223 

tative difficulties has the same educative or disciplinary 
value as the effort involved in overcoming quahtative 
difficulties. 

The fallacy of this argument is obvious. Whatever 
educative value may inhere in the difficulty of a task is 
surely dependent upon a recognition by the pupil of the 
worthiness of the result that comes out of the effort. In 
other words, a series of tasks upon which the pupil con- 
centrates, but from which he emerges without the con- 
sciousness of conquest, can do little to confirm in his mind 
the value of persistence and effort. Unless striving is- 
sues in results of one sort or another that appeal to the 
pupil as worth while, he will hardly be encouraged to 
idealize striving. Now with science and mathematics, 
the overcoming of difficulties does (or may) lead to a 
result that the pupil recognizes as thoroughly worth 
while. There are also certain kinds of effort and con- 
centration that are essential to the enjoyment of litera- 
ture and art, but it is hardly to be assumed that uncon- 
scionably long assignments issue in anything but weari- 
ness and perhaps disgust. 

7. (c) A third factor that interferes with the fulfillment 
of recreative functions inheres in the very inconsistent 
and anomalous assumption that every teacher and every 
pupil can come to admire every form of art. This assump- 
tion expresses itself in the rigid prescription of the "mas- 
terpieces" that are to be studied during each year or 
semester of the course. Doubtless most pupils can be 
aroused to the point of interest if they have some one 



224 EDUCATIONAL VALUES 

from whom to "catch" the enthusiasm. But when the 
teacher himself fails to appreciate the beauty of the selec- 
tion that he is '' teaching," it is futile to hope that his 
pupils will do so. If appreciation is to be "taught" (or 
perhaps better, " caught "), the teacher must at least limit 
himself to those materials that he himself appreciates. 

At this point it is evident that there may be a conflict of 
values. The conventional demands must be met, and these 
demands may, and often do, necessitate the teaching of certain 
literary masterpieces for which teachers have little liking. 
It is beside the question to say that they "ought to like them." 
One cannot force appreciation, and one cannot often lead 
pupils to appreciate what is presented by an unappreciative 
teacher. The problem can be solved only by giving up the 
conventional value entirely, or by permitting it to be realized 
through the most superficial kind of an acquaintance with the 
masterpieces in question. The fulfillment of recreative and 
inspirational functions will richly justify an expenditure of 
time and energy that would be quite unjustified in realizing a 
value that is merely conventional. In the latter case, as 
has been pointed out before, the more quickly the task is com- 
pleted, the better, — provided, of course, that the value is 
limited to the conventional type; where a great deal is at 
stake, the problem assumes a different aspect, — although 
even here it is doubtful whether inspiration can come without 
admiration. 

8. Recreative functions are not limited to art, music, 
and literature, but may come to inhere in any subject of 
the curriculum — although the aesthetic disciplines are 
peculiar in that their chief functions are inspirational and 
recreative. History, however, possesses large possibili- 



FULFILLING RECREATIVE FUNCTIONS 225 

ties from the recreative point of view. Again there is 
danger of a conflict with the conventional and inspira- 
tional demands. History as usually taught leaves with 
many of its immature students something that is akin to 
a prejudice against history as a recreative study. The 
fulfilling of conventional demands frequently encourages 
the most barren kinds of methods. Some of the blame 
must also be attributed to the factor that was found to 
operate so disastrously in the teaching of the aesthetic 
subjects; in the desire to make history ^'difiicult," the 
fact has been overlooked that difficult tasks, if they are 
to appeal to the pupil as worth while, must issue in re- 
sults that are clearly commensurate with the difficulties. 
Long assignments of collateral reading in history do not 
always or often issue in such results ; nor does the elabo- 
ration of voluminous notebooks, nor the ineffective source 
work that is sometimes attempted in elementary and sec- 
ondary schools. Whatever may be the cause, however, 
there can be little doubt of the inadequacy of some of the 
teaching of history in the lower schools from the stand- 
point of realizing its recreative values. 

9. The recreative value that may inhere in manual 
training should not be overlooked, although it has not 
been strongly urged by those who have been most ardent 
in introducing the subject into the elementary and sec- 
ondary curriculum. For the business or professional 
man, it would be difficult to find a means of recreation 
that would tend more effectively to turn the mind from 
the worries of the day's work than the recreative practice 
Q 



226 EDUCATIONAL VALUES 

of some handicraft. The realization of this value, how- 
ever, will be dependent upon the methods that are em- 
ployed by the teacher of manual training. Negative 
prejudices may be developed in the shop just as they may 
be developed in the classroom. And again there is the 
danger of conflict among different types of value. If 
manual training is conducted because of its assumed 
disciplinary function, it is quite likely to fail in develop- 
ing recreative tastes. 

It should not be inferred from this, nor from former criti- 
cisms of the same tenor, that the realization of recreative 
values is always to be considered as inconsistent with the 
realization of disciplinary and utilitarian possibiHties. It is 
not true that a subject that is to appeal to the pupil as a 
means of recreation or diversion from the daily work of life 
must, for that reason, appeal to him as easy. It must, how- 
ever, leave him with an unequivocal liking for the pursuit. If 
it appeals to him at first as difficult, the gradual solution of 
the difficulties must result in products that are essentially and 
unequivocally worth while. We have seen that disciplinary 
functions are probably to be realized only under the same 
conditions ; consequently the two functions are not incon- 
sistent. It still remains true, however, that they may work 
in opposition to each other in actual practice, for the pleasant 
terminus of a disciplinary process is not always recognized 
as essential to the fulfillment of the disciplinary function. 

lo. The subject of the elementary curriculum that has 
perhaps been most extensively taught with a recreative 
purpose in mind is nature study. Practically all authori- 
ties agree that one purpose of nature study is to reveal to 



FULFILLING RECREATIVE FUNCTIONS 227 

pupils the phenomena of nature in such a way that they 
will find the future observation and investigation of these 
phenomena a source of unvarying delight. No one can 
deny that the attempts of teachers to develop a sym- 
pathetic attitude toward nature have been very fre- 
quently not only futile, but quite disastrous, as far as the 
realization of their chief aim is concerned. In other 
words, nature study has only too often prejudiced the 
child against natural phenomena as a source of recreative 
enjoyment. Exceptional teachers, themselves imbued 
with an enthusiasm for observation and experimentation, 
have been able to communicate their own tastes to their 
pupils ; but these teachers are not numerous. Here, as 
in the case of literature, the enthusiasm must be " caught," 
it cannot be ''taught." But here, also, as in the case of 
literature, the teachers themselves may be led to acquire 
this indispensable qualification. Even possessing it, 
however, they may still fail of the desired goal. In 
all subjects in which the fulfillment of function is 
dependent, obviously and directly, upon emotional 
factors, the line of least resistance is toward methods 
that smack of " sentimentalism." No doubt much of 
the failure in teaching nature study has been due to a 
premature attempt to "force" appreciation, — to "rave" 
over beauties that the pupil cannot see, or — what is still 
more disastrous — to couple nature study with "goody- 
goody" sermonizing on kindness to animals and other 
virtues, which, however important in themselves, are 
often irrelevantly forced upon the pupil. 



228 EDUCATIONAL VALUES 

II. Concerning the other materials of the curriculum, it 
is probable that the dominant values are not of the rec- 
reative type. Arithmetic has, in times past, been oc- 
casionally taught as a source of recreation. Geography 
may certainly lend itself very effectively to the develop- 
ment of recreative interests (such as an interest in the 
history of exploration), but its chief value must be iden- 
tified with another type. The more formal subjects, such 
as grammar and spelKng, seem to be far removed from a 
general recreative functioning. Certainly if any of these 
subjects could be made to appeal to the pupil as sources 
of recreation, the procedure would be thoroughly justified 
in so far, of course, as it did not interfere with the realiza- 
tion of their more important values. 

That the study of foreign languages in the secondary 
schools leaves with the average pupil a positive prejudice 
in favor of such study as a recreative pursuit would be 
an absurd contention. Whenever pupils can be properly 
led to the appreciation of the literature of these languages, 
the recreative function should perhaps be considered of 
prime importance, but the situation, in so far as the pres- 
ent-day teaching in the high schools is concerned, seems 
well-nigh hopeless. Certainly other functions are ade- 
quately fulfilled, but no one of these would be inconsistent 
with such teaching as should leave with some of the pu- 
pils, at least, an unequivocal liking for foreign-language 
study. 



CHAPTER XIV 

Values to be Realized in Fulfilling Interpretive 
Functions 

I. It will be recalled that ''attitudes" and "perspec- 
tives" were recognized in an earlier chapter as represent- 
ing an important tj^e of conduct-controls, and that 
the educative materials engendering these controls 
were ascribed an ''interpretive" function. As was there 
suggested, this rubric is of paramount importance to edu- 
cational theory. It has been difficult hitherto to account 
satisfactorily for the recognized value of a large group of 
educative materials, — a group so large, indeed, that it 
constitutes the major part of the curriculum of general 
education. In many cases, these materials have been 
justified because of their "culture " value, but this justi- 
fication has been very unsatisfactory : in the first place, 
the word "culture" itself is very far from unequivocal 
and definite ; in the second place, the word is associated 
in many minds with luxury and a certain measure of 
freedom from the cares and responsibilities of economic 
life; and in the third place the idea of culture is not 
easily harmonized^ with the ultimate aim of social achieve- 

1 Ruediger, for example, rejects the social aim of education chiefly 
because it justifies the cultural and aesthetic subjects "only indirectly." 
(Principles of Education, p. 60.) 

229 



230 EDUCATIONAL VALUES 

ment without virtually implying an individualistic cri- 
terion, and thus effectually repudiating the social 
standard. 

2. The influence of attitudes and perspectives upon 
economic and social adjustment may be made clear by 
the differences in quality of conduct between the ^'lib- 
erally educated" man and the narrowly educated man. 
From the point of view of adjustment, one virtue of 
''liberal" knowledge Hes in its relation to the detection 
of situations. In other words, it is not alone the solution 
of situations that is important; before a situation can 
be solved, it must be recognized as a situation. One may 
be thoroughly conversant with the principles of hygiene, 
for example, and have the will to apply them to the bet- 
terment of one's life, and yet fail to detect the point or 
points where the application "fits." The perspective 
in which one views the situation gives it the unique 
coloring which largely dictates the nature of one's adjust- 
ment. This perspective is the conduct-control ^^that is 
particularly likely to be determined by general educa- 
tion. 

This is clearly shown in an instance cited by Pillsbury .^ " A 
large part of what we ordinarily call a good memory consists in 
. . . this ability to think of the right thing at the right time. 
The invention of the steam engine was assured when a possible 
use for its energy was suggested by the force that the steam 
from the mouth of a teakettle exerted. Many men knew of 
the value of force in general, and many men had observed that 

^ W. B. Pillsbury : Attention, London, 1908, p. 145. (Italics mine.) 



FULFILLING INTERPRETIVE FUNCTIONS 23 1 

a straw would be bent by the steam from the spout, but no man 
had analyzed the characteristic of force, and had the sugges- 
tion of a practical appHcation at the same time. All other 
elements were present in the mental content except the right 
conditions of attention to bring about that analysis, and to di- 
rect the train of associations into that particular path. This 
hung upon the presence of just the right knowledge and just 
the right attitude toward the problem at that time. Being in 
possession of the fact is not sufficient. . . . Even in the 
schoolroom inability to answer questions is not so much lack 
of proper knowledge as inability to see in the question the 
proper cue to the answer, and lack of the proper related knowl- 
edge tha^ will direct the associations to the particular fact 
desired. All this, of course, depends upon earlier experiences, 
upon knowledge in general . . . ; it is not lack of the par- 
ticular bit of knowledge in question, but of the more 
indefinite and widely distributed general knowledge, that shall 
make the particular effective at this time and in this 
connection." 

It would seem that the type of control that Pillsbury has in 
mind here is quite identical with what we have just termed the 
attitude or perspective, and it is clear from his analysis that 
general education is well adapted to furnish these important 
factors. 

3. Another relation between ''general knowledge" 
and social and economic efSciency is suggested by what 
may be described as "negative adjustment." It is 
natural to think of conduct or adjustment as limited to 
the positive direction of energy. We reflect this notion 
in our national ideal of the strenuous life. Action is 
associated primarily with movement, although, psycho- 
logically, action may be the inhibition of movement. 



232 EDUCATIONAL VALUES 

Both economic efficiency and social efficiency are as 
thoroughly dependent upon ''negative" as upon "posi- 
tive" adjustment. To the man of liberal education, the 
environment is reduced to a certain measure of law and 
order and system. Situations which the ignorant are 
led by fear or curiosity or imitation to attempt to solve, 
and which are frequently solved most inadequately, 
either do not appeal to the educated man as having 
immediate reference to his needs, or are quickly and ade- 
quately put out of the way, — subsumed under the ap- 
propriate concept or principle that covers them. 

Thus one who has mastered the fundamental principles of 
the natural sciences may say quite confidently that he can 
find in the special vocation of his life no opportunities to apply 
the knowledge that he acquired at the cost of so much time 
and effort. And yet in the course of his workaday life, this 
knowledge is certainly functioning, not in judgment-processes, 
it is true, but in attitudes and perspectives, which influence 
profoundly his adjustment. The phenomena which puzzle, 
irritate, confuse, or bewilder the ignorant and unenUghtened 
do not trouble him. Where the former see situations which are 
not significant to their economic and social needs, but which 
simply hark back to a primitive instinct, he is oblivious to the 
stimuli ; and where they fail to see situations which are sig- 
nificant to their economic and social needs, he detects such 
situations. 

A personal example may serve to clarify this conception. 
More than once the writer has seen "ghosts" ; that is to say, 
he has had the experience which, if he had not been able to 
interpret it rationally, would have stimulated him to a mystic 
and supernatural explanation. He has recognized as an hal- 



FULFILLING INTERPRETIVE FUNCTIONS 233 

lucination what another man might call a ghost. He would 
now be a firm believer in spiritism and its attendant supersti- 
tions, had not his knowledge of psychological laws furnished 
him with the rational explanation. Nor is the explicit sub- 
sumption of the phenomenon under a general principle or 
concept essential to the functioning of his psychological knowl- 
edge in situations of this sort. Occasionally the judgment 
may be explicitly made ; but more frequently the knowledge 
functions as attitude or perspective either in decreeing that 
the phenomenon shall not become a situation demanding ad- 
justment, or in making the adjustment quite different from 
what it would be were a similar phenomenon presented to one 
lacking the knowledge. 

4. The fundamental social significance of general 
education in freeing man's mind from the incubus of 
fear, dread, superstition, fraud, and error has often been 
noted, but its clear relation to efficient conduct has never 
been sufficiently emphasized. Both fear and curiosity 
must always be reckoned with in determining the ma- 
terials that are to be utilized in the educative process. 
The human mind craves knowledge, — craves to know 
the deepest meanings and significances of the forces 
that operate upon the organism. And even if these 
forces have no immediate significance to life or adjust- 
ment, nature has wisely implanted the instinct that 
impels man to seek them out, to identify them, to classify 
them, to arrange them in system and order in case they 
should happen, under some future condition, to prove 
significant. The need for *'pure" science is just as 
fundamental and vital as the need for "applied" science. 



234 EDUCATIONAL VALUES 

Curiosity is as truly an instinct as hunger, and the spur 
of curiosity has been perhaps as powerful a force in the 
progress of the human race as the spur of hunger. Fear 
is stimulated by the strange and the unknown, and its 
depressing and energy- was ting influences are just as 
marked when the unknown is innocuous as when it is 
fraught with danger. It behooves man, therefore, to 
push his investigations into the unknown and the mys- 
terious, even if there is no promise of an economic equiva- 
lent for the time and energy thus employed. It behooves 
him to make artificial situations where no real situations 
exist, — to attend to a minute distinction for the sake 
of the distinction, even though it may never become a 
cue for positive action. The fact that it has been 
explained and relegated to its proper place will, in the 
end, justify the trouble of explaining it; for even if it 
does not furnish a cue to positive action, it will, in any 
case, furnish a cue to negative adjustment, — it will 
no longer perplex and confuse, it will no longer be 
enshrouded in an irritating mysticism, or furnish a stimu- 
lus for superstition and its attendant evils. 

A typical example of this craving for knowledge is to be 
found in the history of Arctic exploration. That men seem to 
be somewhat ashamed of their instinct of curiosity which has 
done so much for their advancement is evidenced by the 
excuses that each successive explorer in the Far North puts 
forth as a cloak to his real motive. Kane would seek for 
records of the Franklin party. The motive appears upon the 
title-page of his journal, but little evidence can be found in the 
record itself that he did aught but strive for knowledge of the 



FULFILLING INTERPRETIVE FUNCTIONS 235 

unknown lands and waters through which he attempted 
the conquest to the Pole. Nansen asserts emphatically that 
the location of the North Pole is but a subsidiary object of his 
trip. Only with a few of the adventurers into these for- 
bidding regions has the attempt to reach the Pole been ac- 
knowledged as the primary aim. Why it should not always 
have been a laudable ambition, it is hard to see. The North 
Pole undiscovered would always have been an irritation. Any 
unknown area of the earth's surface stimulates the spirit of dis- 
covery and exploration, and it is well for mankind that it should. 
It is true that the discoveries that are made may give but 
small financial returns for the labor and expense of making 
them, but this disadvantage is not limited to investigations 
undertaken from the motive of pure discovery. The long 
series of attempts to discover the Northwest Passage were im- 
pelled by economic motives, and yet they were thoroughly 
futile from the standpoint of positive commercial results. 
Nevertheless, their histor)^ forms one of the most priceless 
chapters in the record of human achievement. Nor is their 
value limited to the fact that they demonstrated the im- 
practicability of the Northwest Passage as a commercial 
route, — a negative "cue" to adjustment that alone would 
perhaps justify the labor and suffering that they involved. 
The stimulating exam^ple of human endurance and persistence 
against heavy odds for the realization of a set purpose is 
not the least important among the results that have ac- 
crued to the work of Frankhn, Parry, McChntock, and 
Amundsen. 

5. Among the materials of the curriculum that fulfill 
most effectively these interpretive functions and thus 
realize fundamental social and economic values, the 
natural sciences stand preeminent. It is the chief func- 
tion of science as taught in the elementary and high 



236 EDUCATIONAL VALUES 

schools to reduce the material environment to law and 
order in the minds of the pupils. It is in this sense par- 
ticularly that the task of education is "enlightenment." 
It is in the sense that it is "liberalizing." As a climax 
of this process of reduction stands the study of phi- 
losophy, which attempts to correlate all sciences and to 
find the ultimate principle of unification. And the 
valuable resultant in every case is not primarily that 
mastery of facts and principles which will enable one 
to solve technical problems, although there is no reason 
why such a mastery should not be gained in so far as is con- 
sistent with realizing the more important functions ; the 
important resultant, however, is a system of attitudes 
and perspectives which implies, as has been suggested, a 
systematic and rational mastery rather than merely that 
empirical mastery which is often sufficient for economic 
purposes, and which so often identifies itself with pure 
habit. 

6. It is not true, however, that the interpretive func- 
tions are limited to the sciences. In the sense that they 
represent organized and coherent systems of human 
experience, all school disciplines possess these values in a 
larger or smaller measure : every art has its unique 
body of principles back of it ; every art, in other words, 
has its science. The laws underlying literature, the 
principles that explain the potency of art over the emo- 
tions, the great universal principles that govern the 
development of civilization, — all these answer certain 
cravings of the human mind to know and understand. 



FULFILLING INTERPRETIVE FUNCTIONS 237 

7. The interpretive function of history is of primary 
importance in the phases of historical instruction that 
are represented by the advanced elementary and second- 
ary courses. As was suggested in an earlier chapter/ 
the viewing of present situations in the light of their 
genesis, — through a perspective of the events that 
have led up to them, — modifies in a marked degree 
one's adjustment to these situations. The emphasis 
upon causal relations which is the central feature of the 
teaching of history in the upper grades and in the second- 
ary school has for its function the furnishing of such a 
perspective. 

This interpretive function is emphasized by most of the 
recent writers upon the teaching of history. Thus J. W. Allen ^ 
contends that any real knowledge of history "should help us 
with all those speculations and inquiries which turn upon 
matters social and political. Such knowledge should enable 
us finally to rid ourselves of many superstitions, — of modern 
superstitions concerning authorities and majorities, as well 
as of antique, surviving superstitions concerning nobility and 
claims of right. It will help us to reckon progress from the 
Stone Age instead of from the day before yesterday. It will 
help us to separate the idea of progress from the idea of me- 
chanical achievement and from any particular forms of prog- 
ress which happen to be immediately familiar to us. It will 
assist in altogether destroying the ludicrous superstition of our 
own immense superiority as compared with those who have 

1 See above, pp. 67 f. 

2 J, W. Allen : The Place of History in Education, New York, 1910, 
pp. 160 ff. ; cf. also H. E. Bourne: The Teaching of History and Civics, 
New York, 1909, pp. 87 f. 



238 EDUCATIONAL VALUES 

gone before. ... It will show us institutions in the light 
of their origin. . . . It should help us to see all social facts 
in a due proportion." 

And just as each specific art has its science, — has its 
body of underlying principles which make meaningful 
the practices that it embodies, — so each art has its 
history, a proper knowledge of which will provide one 
with a time-perspective upon the work that one is doing. 
How important these historical perspectives are to 
specialized efficiency can be determined only by careful 
experimentation, but it is safe to hazard a guess that 
one's conduct is appreciably modified in the direction 
of enhanced efficiency by viewing each problem that one 
confronts in the light of its genesis, and in the light of 
its relations to human life in general. Again it should 
be urged that this does not always or often involve a 
judgment process. The function of a perspective, as 
has already been urged, is to modify one's interpretation 
of the situation, and this is accomplished by the presence 
of an attitude rather than by the explicit recall of ideas 
and principles. But these important attitudes are the 
resultants of explicitly understood ideas and principles. 

8. Nor are interpretive functions confined to science 
and history. Literature as such provides a perspective 
upon human life that nothing else can give. It is per- 
haps the chief educational function of literature to crys- 
tallize the ideals that, after all has been said, must form 
the pillars upon which society rests. But in the assimi- 
lation of these ideals, youth also gains a perspective upon 



FULFILLING INTERPRETIVE FUNCTIONS 239 

human life that may serve very profoundly to modify 
his conduct. Social situations are different to him than 
they would be otherwise. Men and women may even be 
classed into types, of each of which some character, 
sketched by the master hand of the dramatist or the 
novelist, stands as a representative. Shylock and King 
Lear, Faust and Wilhelm Meister, Becky Sharp and 
Hester Prynne, Colonel Sellers and Mr. Micawber, — 
these and the other great characters that stalk through 
the pages of imaginative literature form the centers about 
which may be grouped the men and women of real life. 
And the youth who has the power to read human nature 
through this perspective is profiting by the experience of 
the few great students of humanity, who have left in 
these characters the results of their investigations, 
just as the youth who reads the principle of gravitation 
or the principle of evolution into natural phenomena 
profits by the experiences that only a Newton or a Darwin 
were competent initially to undergo. 

It is in the Hght of so sweeping a generalization as this that 
one is likely to ask : "If everything that can possibly be taught 
possesses some sort of value, why waste time in analysis and 
classification ? Why not take value for granted and let edu- 
cation work out its salvation unhampered by finely spun 
theories ?" It has already been suggested that such a study 
should throw light upon the problems of method, but now we 
have, in the discussion just completed, a justification for the 
study of values irrespective of any possible influence over spe- 
cific and technical adjustments. Like workers in other depart- 
ments of life, the educator must reduce his world to system and 



240 EDUCATIONAL VALUES 

order. As in other arts, so in education, one must recognize 
the essential worth of unifying principles, even though the 
direct influence of these principles may be called into ques- 
tion. The factor of "negative adjustment" and the craving 
to know and understand are as fundamental to the teacher's 
work as they are to other departments of human activity. 

9. There is still another aspect of the interpretive 
function that demands recognition and emphasis. The 
realization of what the writer once termed 'theoretical 
values" ^ really depends upon the development of atti- 
tudes and perspectives. The effective recall and appli- 
cation of facts and principles has been proved by the 
investigations upon memory to be dependent very largely 
upon the degree in which these facts and principles have 
been "organized," — upon the unity of "meaning" 
which binds them together. In other words, the recall 
and application, even of the specific facts that are to 
function in specific judgments, depend in no small meas- 
ure upon the "matrix" of attitude in which they are 
embedded. One does not always distinctly recall the 
concrete experiences from which have been derived the 
general principles that one employs when these principles 
are used in judgment processes, but the possibility of 
recalling these principles and of applying them effectively 
is dependent upon the fact that they have at one time 
or another been explicitly based upon concrete experiences. 
And the inverse relation similarly holds : one recalls 
specific and concrete facts the more readily if these have 

^ C£. Educative Process, p. 233. 



FULFILLING INTERPRETIVE FUNCTIONS 24I 

been grouped and organized about the large units 
of meaning, — about penetrating and comprehensive 
principles. 

This value of organization and unity in promoting recall 
and application is so clearly evident from the memory in- 
vestigations that it may be looked upon as firmly established. 
The ease with which "meaningful" materials are fixed, re- 
tained, and recalled as contrasted with ''nonsense" materials, 
the superiority of the "total" as contrasted with the "frag- 
mentary" methods of memorizing, and the increased efiiciency 
which is afforded by any factor that will group, organize, and 
relate the materials that are being "learned," — all these 
facts go to show the fundamental significance of this 
"matrix" of meaning and unity which we have identified 
with attitude. 



CHAPTER XV 

The School Environment as a Source of Educative 
Materials 

I. In the foregoing chapters, reference has most 
frequently been made to the curriculum of the schools 
as the source of educative materials. It must not be 
assumed, however, that the formal curriculum is the only- 
source of such material, nor is it the only source that 
the educator can control. 

One of the most important movements in modern 
education has been the increasingly explicit recognition 
of the educative influence of the life of the school itself, 
apart from the content of the formal curriculum.^ This 
recognition has been due, in part, to the abandonment 
of the older conception of education as essentially a 
process of instruction in knowledge, and the develop- 
ment of the broader conception of education as a process 
of adjustment to the social life. It has also been influ- 
enced by the spirit of the great English public schools, 
which, in answer to the demand placed upon them for 
a particular type of product, have met this demand 

1 Cf. J. Dewey : The School and Society, Chicago, 1899 ; C. B. Gilbert : 
The School and Its Life, New York, 1908 ; M. V. O'Shea : Social Develop- 
ment and Education Boston, 1909; C. A. Scott: Social Educationf 
Boston, 1908. 

242 



THE SCHOOL ENVIRONMENT 243 

through the development of a unique type of school 
life rather than through a change in the formal curricu- 
lum.^ And finally, the example of the higher institu- 
tions in developing student-organizations has been 
imitated in the lower schools with the result that second- 
ary education, especially, must reckon with the educative 
influence of school life if it would not have the influence 
of its formal curriculum stand in grave danger of at least 
partial nullification. 

2. The controls of conduct for which the general life 
of the school must stand sponsor are to be included almost 
exclusively under the two rubrics, habits and ideals. 
For the most part, however, the habits are the products 
of the ideals, and consequently will demand little direct 
attention in their own right. 

That the ideals formed by companionship and social 
contagion during the years of early adolescence are 
among the most effective and influential conduct-con- 
trols of early maturity, there can be little doubt. The 
standards of courage, endurance, hardihood, truth, 
chastity, personal honor, and moral rectitude, as well 
as the more specific ideals of cleanliness, industry, accu- 
racy, and the like, formed during these years are almost 
certain to be the directive forces of conduct, at least until 

1 Cf. J. J. Findlay : "The Corporate Life of the School," School Review^ 
vol. XV, pp. 744 ff . ; vol. xvi, pp. 601 ff. ; H. B. Smith : " Methods of 
Moral Instruction and Training in English Public Schools," in Moral 
Instruction and Training in Schools (Ed. M. E. Sadler), London, 1909, 
ch. xii; J. Welton and F. G. Blandford: Principles and Methods of 
Moral Training, London, 1909, ch. vi. 



244 EDUCATIONAL VALUES 

the struggles of gaming a livelihood lead to their modi- 
fication. The ''illusions" of youth may have little 
justification in the conditions of adult life, but it still 
remains true that they have been, and doubtless always 
will be, controlling factors in the destiny of human 
society. They furnish a perspective through which the 
most vital situations of life are viewed, and while it is 
true that this perspective may sometimes distort reality, 
it is also true that the distortion may indicate more 
clearly than anything else the condition into which man 
should strive to mold reahty. The hope of the future 
must lie in the character of the ideals with which youth 
is inspired, and since these come probably more numer- 
ously and certainly more effectively out of the social 
environment of youth than out of the formal instruction 
to which youth is subjected, the importance of the social 
life of the school can scarcely be overestimated. 

3. It is true, of course, that the educator is here 
brought face to face with a problem over the conditions 
of which he seems to have little control. Every overt 
attempt to force adult standards prematurely upon the 
young is bound to be abortive, and the educator is thrown 
back upon indirection, — and indirection, from its very 
nature, is fraught with uncertainty. We are here beyond 
the range of the reasonably predictable: the indefinite 
and unmeasurable factors of "personality" control the 
situation, and the best-laid plans may miscarry at a 
juncture that could never have been anticipated as 
critical. 



THE SCHOOL ENVIRONMENT 245 

The success of the English secondary school in dealing 
with this problem is doubtless due in some measure to the 
minimal degree in which overt adult direction has entered into 
the non-scholastic activities of the school life. And yet, there 
is httle doubt that there has been some indirect control. The 
problem is somewhat simpHfied by the fact that the typical 
English secondary schools are boarding-schools, and conse- 
quently make possible an elimination of parental indulgence, 
and the creation of an esprit de corps that is only with 
difficulty reproduced in a day school. The instincts which He 
at the basis of the ideals of virility and hardihood are conse- 
quently given a range of freedom in expression which would 
not be possible under American conditions. The checks to 
this freedom are "natural" rather than artificial, in the sense 
that they develop through the individual's recognition of the 
fact that freedom must be controlled if social welfare is to be 
preserved. The type of leadership that encourages such con- 
trol is consequently given an effective social sanction. The 
ideals for which these leaders stand come to be adopted as 
standards of conduct by the followers, and the result is the 
development of a mass of traditions and prejudices which are 
the direct outcome of generations of school life and which the 
pupils recognize as products of that Hfe, and consequently as 
belonging essentially to their own order. 

Among the pressing problems of genetic psychology there 
is none more significant to secondary education than to for- 
mulate the laws that govern the development of these stand- 
ards. There seems to be almost an instinctive tendency 
among youth to resent the impHcation that they have any- 
thing to learn from the experience of their elders. Whether 
this is a variant of that strong individuahstic instinct which 
resents an intrusion into the sphere of the self (as if youth 
felt that its own experiences were its own property and that 
replacing them by the experiences of others invaded property 



246 EDUCATIONAL VALUES 

rights), or whether the impulse is merely the result of educa- 
tive efforts that have been misdirected, there can be little 
doubt either of its universality or of its profound significance 
to the problems of adolescent education. 

4. So much, at least, is true — the dislike of youth for 
adult direction in its activities is prominent among the 
"given '' factors of the problem under discussion. What 
other factors can be included in this list? First of all, 
the strong and effective group-impulses, — impulses 
toward organization, — demand recognition. It is these 
that constitute the most hopeful elements of the situa- 
tion. The adolescent is primarily a social animal, and 
he will organize his fellows into clubs, teams, or gangs 
if a significant measure of freedom is allowed him. 
From these self-organized groups, the natural leader 
will inevitably emerge, and this natural leader will 
dominate and color the standards and ideals of his fol- 
lowing in a degree that is seldom realized in adult groups, 
— except perhaps in abnormal instances, such as the 
rise of a new sect in religion, or the appearance of a 
"one-man" party in the political field. From the prac- 
tical point of view of school management, therefore, 
almost everything lies with the indirect influence which 
the teacher or the principal can exert over the leaders. 
Occasionally, perhaps, this influence may be direct, 
and in this case the situation presents no difficulties; 
but, unfortunately for the teacher's peace of mind, this 
condition is met with very infrequently. The men and 
women who have the peculiar personality to influence 



THE SCHOOL ENVIRONMENT 247 

the natural leaders of youth are rarely found in the 
schools. 

5. A third factor which enters into the problem is 
the desire of the adolescent to be considered as "grown- 
up," and to be accorded the privileges that he considers 
the prerogative of manhood. That privileges, in the 
normal course of social life, are always at least counter- 
balanced by responsibilities, is a lesson that only experi- 
ence can teach. The adult well knows that the respon- 
sibilities in most cases far outweigh the privileges, and 
many who "enjoy" privileges under these conditions 
would willingly surrender them if by so doing they could 
escape the responsibilities that go with them. But 
youth sees only one side of the picture. It is all part and 
parcel of the "illusions" to which the adolescent is 
subject, and which he must correct, often through pain- 
ful experience. 

It is this factor which renders the high-school fraternity 
question so difficult of solution. The social scheme of 
adult life is governed by certain standards which, however 
much one may deplore them, must be admitted to fulfill 
certain very essential functions. However much it may 
be abused, there is a need for that disapproval of unsocial 
and disintegrating tendencies which is expressed by the 
social ostracism of those individuals who do not conform 
to the essential conventions. Because such ostracism all 
too frequently works a grave injustice, it is not to be con- 
cluded that it fulfills no useful function. There is also a 
need for maintaining a certain social stability, and this 



248 EDUCATIONAL VALUES 

need requires that a man or a woman must merit recog- 
nition before it is accorded him. ''Exclusiveness" has 
its part to play in maintaining this stabiKty, although 
again no one will deny that this specific factor frequently 
operates in a most blundering and inequitable fashion. 
But such forces as social ostracism and social exclusive- 
ness can be justified only in an adult society where a 
multitude of conflicting forces tend to equalize opportu- 
nity, and where the abiHty to achieve distinction of some 
sort can, in a bare majority of cases, at least, come into 
its own. In the school, the operation of ostracism and 
exclusiveness is commonly based upon a non-reflective 
imitation of adult forms; consequently the ^' snobbery'^ 
that is engendered by the high-school fraternity becomes 
a pitiable caricature. It has no purpose, no function ; it 
merely copies the form and misses the meaning. 

As suggested above, the English secondary school escapes 
the baneful influence of the high-school fraternity, or whatever 
its analogue would be under English conditions, by developing 
a social institution within the school that really has a function 
of its own. Feelings do not always escape unhurt in English 
secondary schools any more than they do in the American 
high school, but the hurt feelings of the English boy are not a 
useless by-product of a still more useless process as is the case 
with us. Social distinction there depends upon some form of 
achievement in activities closely limited to the school life. 
The field is free and favoritism is at a discount. Capacity 
alone decides whether a boy shall be eminent among his fellows, 
or whether he shall be an outcast. Nor does the contrast 
cease at this point. With the English boy, social distinction 
carries with it social responsibility, just as it does under the 



THE SCHOOL ENVIRONMENT 249 

conditions of normal adult life. In the American high school, 
on the contrary, social distinction carries with it a still 
wider Hcense, — a responsibiHty, if you will, to "make good" 
in unsocial and disintegrating activities.^ 

It is perhaps unfair to single out the high-school fraternity 
for criticism of this sort, without including in the indictment 
its prototype, the college fraternity. And yet there is a 
difference between the two cases, and this difference bears 
directly upon the point at issue. The college fraternity, like 
the social organizations of the EngUsh pubHc schools, fulfills 
a certain function, which, if not indispensable, is at least use- 
ful. There have been periods in its development when it was 
open to the same charges that now confront the high-school 
fraternities. There are doubtless many college " chapters " 
to-day that could be justly indicted on the same grounds. 
But, on the whole, the college fraternity has found its place. 
In spite of its tendencies toward social snobbery, and in spite 
of its encouragement of ideals that are often un-American (to 

1 The deplorable moral conditions in many American high schools 
have been very important factors in the crusade against the fraternity 
evil, and yet, in spite of the revelations that have been made public, the 
worst has, so far as the writer is aware, never seen the light of print. At 
an executive session of the Council of the Religious Education Associa- 
tion, held in Cleveland, July, 1908, a report was submitted by a special 
investigator who had spent a year in probing into the student-life of some 
of the best known American high schools. The conditions that were 
revealed were not only shocking in the extreme, but far more general 
and widely spread than is ordinarily believed. In the great majority 
of instances, the very existence of these disintegrating and depraving 
forces was entirely unknown to the officials of the schools in question. 
That the situation in the English public schools in this regard is not above 
criticism,'"one may infer from the writings of Ellis and other authorities 
upon sex-hygiene, but it is doubtful whether even with the boarding- 
system, the conditions are so alarming as in some American schools. 
Certainly the danger of venereal infection and its consequent evils is 
not so great. 



250 EDUCATIONAL VALUES 

say the best for them), the college fraternity commonly stands 
for decency, fair-dealing, and the recognition of real merit. It 
is not so proud, perhaps, of its honor-men as of its football 
heroes, but it places a premium upon achievement, and even if 
it fails to satisfy completely the needs of social hf e in the col- 
leges, it is, on the whole, a positive rather than a negative 
factor in that Hf e, and in this respect it stands in marked con- 
trast to its analogue in the high school. 

6. It is fair to assume that, out of the social life of the 
school, certain very effective ideals and standards may 
emerge. What are some of these standards and ideals ? 
First and most important, perhaps, is the prejudice in 
favor of social conduct itself. When men and women 
dwell together in a close community of interests, social 
welfare and progress demand the sacrifice of individual 
caprice and whim. School life can and, even under other- 
wise unfortunate conditions, usually does, impress clearly 
upon the pupils' minds this fundamental standard. The 
spirit of hospitality is the unerring sign of gentle breeding. 
One of the finest and most priceless products of effective 
home training is the willingness of the individual to spare 
himself no pains in courtesy toward those who seek en- 
tertainment under his roo^f . One of the most impor- 
tant products of school life is somewhat analogous to this. 
It is the disposition to put forth the effort that is essential 
to make oneself a welcome member of the group. School 
life normally affords innumerable opportunities to teach 
this lesson in the most effective way, — that is, by the 
actual practice of the virtue itself. It does not need to be 
forced ; indeed, it scarcely can be forced without defeat- 



THE SCHOOL ENVIRONMENT 251 

ing the desired end. But the spontaneous tendency to- 
ward forming groups will, if given the slightest freedom in 
which to operate, supply the essential conditions, and the 
development of the standard will follow as a matter of 
course. 

This is not to say that the teacher can leave the matter 
to work itself out. The necessary stimulus must, of course, 
be provided in the way of a certain measure of freedom ; and 
here, as elsewhere, there is abundant scope for the direct in- 
fluence of adult example. In the metropolitan high school, 
especially, the avenues through which socializing influences 
may issue in most praiseworthy results are innumerable. It 
may not be necessary to arrange for social gatherings of pupils 
in the evenings, but if this can be done, and if the gatherings 
can be made to preserve a simple and democratic form, the 
opportunities for training are of inestimable value. If pubHc 
opinion in the community is not strongly against it, the organi- 
zation of school dances, held in the building under the patron- 
age and supervision of the teachers, will teach the social ameni- 
ties in a way that, so far as effectiveness of result is concerned, 
can hardly be equaled. The delight in rhythm is one of the 
fundamental traits of youth, and the dance is a world-old 
educative force that modern civihzation can hardly afford 
to cast aside. Experience points strongly to the conclusion 
that the evils associated with dancing are not at all inherent 
in its nature, but are rather to be considered as perverted 
products which owe their poison entirely to extraneous 
factors. It is as unfair to associate them necessarily with 
dancing as it is to hold any other basic human impulse re- 
sponsible for its perverted and unwholesome expressions.^ 

1 Cf. M. V. O'Shea : Social Development and Education, Boston, 1909, 
pp. 341 fif., particularly with reference to the dangers of narrow range of 
dances sanctioned by present-day "society." 



252 EDUCATIONAL VALUES 

7. Another set of standards that may be encouraged by 
appropriate social conditions in school life are those that 
involve the ideals of self-government. It is in providing 
opportunity for the effective development of these ideals 
that the English secondary schools are superior, and, as 
suggested above, it is the element of responsibility that is 
the important factor. School life, if it is to form an ade- 
quate training-ground for adulthood, must always asso- 
ciate freedom and individual initiative with a rigid re- 
sponsibility for results. The doctrine of spontaneity has 
too often been applied without this essential qualifica- 
tion. Under such conditions, its outcome in school life, 
as in the larger social life of adult society, can spell noth- 
ing else than anarchy. 

The essential condition for the development of these 
ideals seems to depend upon the degree in which the situa- 
tion appeals to the individual as a real situation. Per- 
haps when this condition is best realized, the situation 
may be vastly more "real" than it will ever become to the 
average pupil in later life. That is, the functions of 
adult self-government, except at critical junctures, are 
notoriously mechanical and often quite abortive of the 
ends sought. The average citizen feels very lightly his 
responsibilities in these matters, as every investigation 
into the phenomena of corrupt politics abundantly testi- 
fies. But the development of self-government in the 
smaller circle of the school may do much to reform this 
defect of our institutional life. Certainly the well- tested 
results of the experiment as worked out in the George 



THE SCHOOL ENVIRONMENT 253 

Junior Republic and similar schools seem sufficient to 
warrant a hopeful outlook.^ 

How this reality of the situation may be brought about in the 
average American high school is a difficult question to answer. 
Certainly it will not be brought about effectively simply by 
surrendering the conduct of school affairs into the hands of the 
pupils. This introduces an artificial element at the very out- 
set, for the pupils soon appreciate the fact that the school 
officials have only set them a game to play, and that these 
officials will step in and assume control if matters are not ar- 
ranged to their satisfaction. The game pleases for a time, 
like other games, but it soon loses its novelty, and the routine 
that was so fascinating at the outset quickly begins to pall. 

Even under the best conditions, the same enemies of good 
government that work havoc in adult society make a very 
early appearance in the self-governing groups of pupils. 
Political chicanery, log-roUing, ballot-box frauds, and all the 
well-known attendants of popular government quickly begin 
their deadly work, — the more deadly because pupils are Hkely 
to see how easily the machine may be manipulated for private 
profit, and so gain a permanent first impression which is hkely 
to defeat the very end that is desired. But the situation 
would not be "real" without these factors, and the question 
naturally arises. Is it wise to risk the premature forma- 
tion of negative ideals and undesirable standards for the 
sake of subjecting pupils to a training, the positive results of 
which are so much a matter of doubt ? ^ 

^ Cf., however, the discussion of this problem by C. A. Scott, op. 
ciL, ch. iv. 

2 It is only fair to say that the writer's attitude toward self-govern- 
ment in schools is prejudiced by his own experience as a student-par- 
ticipant in such an experiment. The conditions of this experiment were, 
on the surface, most favorable for the development of a feeling of respon- 



254 EDUCATIONAL VALUES 

It seems quite rash at the present time to pass judg- 
ment, favorable or unfavorable, upon the experiment of 
pupil self-government in elementary and secondary 
schools. It may be that something akin to the EngHsh 
system may be worked out and found adaptable to 
American day-school conditions. The proposals of 
Principal Findlay ^ are extremely suggestive in this con- 
nection. Until definite results are assured, judgment 
should he held in abeyance. 

There is still, however, one group of school activities 

which satisfy the conditions in a reasonable measure, 

and in which experience has proved beyond the shadow 

of a doubt that wholesome results can be obtained. The 

literary and athletic societies form a field for the exercise 

of pupil-initiative that is sufficiently wide, it would seem, 

for all practical purposes. These societies may either 

sibility for law and order upon the part of the students. The situation 
was as thoroughly "real" as could be imagined, for a real need existed 
for government, and the students took the matter into their own hands 
very largely in self-protection. For the majority, however, — and the 
writer confesses membership in this class, — the-responsibihty was far 
too great. From a sober attempt to solve a real problem (and, at the 
beginning, a most successful attempt) the movement degenerated into 
a disgraceful competition for office, accompanied by a relaxation of all 
discipline. The " administration of justice" became a travesty, and the 
whole movement quickly assumed the character of opera-bouffe. The 
case may be quite exceptional, but to the writer it seems to typify the 
inevitable result of placing real authority in the hands of adolescents, who 
are not suflSciently experienced to appreciate the trust. Perhaps if it 
had lasted a Kttle longer, a counter-reform would have done away with 
its unfortunate accompaniments, but there are obvious limitations to 
the risk that it is wise to incur, no matter how desirable the possible out- 
come. 

^ School Review, vol. xvi, 1908, pp. 601 £E, 



THE SCHOOL ENVIRONMENT 255 

be formed spontaneously as an expression of the organiz- 
ing impulse of adolescence, or encouraged and initiated by 
adult direction. The former type fulfills best, of course, 
the conditions of a real situation. The college fraternity 
illustrates this spontaneous grouping developed by tradi- 
tion into something quite different from its original form. 
Its function is social in the narrow sense, rather than liter- 
ary or athletic, but there is no reason why the same rule of 
growth might not operate with organizations of the latter 
class. As the spontaneously formed organization gathers 
a mass of tradition back of it with successive generations 
of students, it acquires much of the dignity of age and 
experience, while, at the same time, the individual initia- 
tive and responsibility of its active membership are in no 
wise diminished. In other words, the organization, while 
ripened by generations of experience, still appeals to the 
individual active member as essentially his own — as 
something in which he may have the pride of copartner- 
ship which is entirely foreign to the organizations initiated 
and controlled by adult influences. 

8. Finallyi, it is scarcely necessary to emphasize the im- 
portance of the social life of the American public school as 
an agency in perpetuating and strengthening the ideals 
of democracy and equality of opportunity which our edu- 
cational system represents and expresses more faithfully 
than does any other institution that our national life has 
developed. If these ideals are to be kept alive as dynamic 
factors in the control of conduct, each generation must be 
imbued with them, not only through vicariously reliving 



256 EDUCATIONAL VALUES 

the past in the study of the historical events which led to 
their initiation, but also, and far more fundamentally, 
through feeling their worth and appreciating their 
strength as they operate in contemporaneous experience. 
In spite of the criticism that the American system of mass 
education levels down rather than up, no good American 
is willing to deny that the net result is a gain rather than 
a loss. The continental policy of separate schools for the 
various strata of society may, on the whole, permit a 
more effective employment of the factor of competition. 
If we assume that the better-fed and better-bred children 
are, on the whole, more capable of rapid progress, a system 
of education which places these children in separate 
schools will necessarily permit higher standards of scholar- 
ship and attainment than a system in which children of all 
classes are massed together. There is no doubt that the 
progress of a class is measured by the progress of those 
members that are below rather than above the average 
in abiHty. The brighter pupils are thus forced to mark 
time, and encouraged to rest upon very easy laurels. If 
the ability of the average can be raised, as may well be 
the case in segregating pupils in ''select" schools, the 
brighter pupils will have a proportionately increased ad- 
vantage in the fact that the level of competition is nearer 
their own capacities. But even admitting this conten- 
tion (and it may easily be disputed), it is still legitimate 
to inquire whether the added advantage in the way of in- 
creased stimulus counterbalances the inevitable encour- 
agement of aristocratic ideals. 



THE SCHOOL ENVIRONMENT 257 

Under the present organization of American elementary 
and secondary schools, the pupil is immersed for twelve 
years in an environment where class-distinctions are not 
recognized, and where every individual, whatever station 
in life his parents may occupy, has an equal share of 
attention from his teachers, an equal right to enjoy the 
material advantages that the community so liberally pro- 
vides, an equal opportunity to achieve whatever distinc- 
tions may result from diligence and application. The 
ideals and prejudices in favor of democracy which grow 
out of this experience represent the most precious heri- 
tage of our national life, and, as has been suggested, the 
surest way to guarantee the perpetuation of this heritage 
is systematically and institutionally to surround youth with 
an environment through reaction to which the ideal is 
born anew with each generation. It may be true that 
some of our brightest pupils suffer from the lack of com- 
petition with their equals in mental capacity, but it is also 
true that others equally bright, but less favored by the 
conditions of birth, are receiving a much more effective 
stimulus than would be possible under European con- 
ditions. In the last analysis, then, probably more talent 
is trained by our system, although it may be true that 
markedly superior talent will stop at a slightly lower level. 

The philosophy of American idealism as represented by the 
public-school system is, of course, only vaguely conscious to the 
average citizen who has never had the stimulus to think the 
matter through consistently. And yet, at least a dim mar- 
ginal consciousness of its deeper meaning is evident in the op- 
s 



258 EDUCATIONAL VALUES 

position which immediately meets any proposal to provide spe- 
cialized schools for the children of the working classes. The 
problem of industrial education must certainly be met, but it is 
generally agreed that it is not likely to be met at the expense 
of the ideal of equality of opportunity. If industrial educa- 
tion means the estabHshment of trade-schools that will shut 
the door of possible advancement at an early age, our present 
system, with all its defects, is vastly to be preferred. Eco- 
nomic conditions may demand the speciahzed training of a pre- 
destined proletariat, but the duty of determining whether this 
demand is in line with the ultimate progress of the nation 
will not be left entirely in the hands of those whose private 
interests would naturally predispose them to see the immedi- 
ate advantages of such training, and overlook its ultimate 
dangers. 

9. As stated earlier in this chapter, the organic life of 
the school, in so far as this life is a positive educative 
force, may be counted upon to develop two important >- 
types of conduct-controls, — habits and ideals. This dis- 
cussion has hitherto been concerned with the socializing 
ideals that may result from school life. It is scarcely 
necessary to say that these ideals or prejudices issue very*/ 
largely from specific habits, and in turn, initiate specific 
habits of the same modality. The discussion of these 
habits, therefore, need not detain us long. From the 
objective point of view, however, one principle requires 
emphasis. It is manifestly essential to social welfare *" 
that the component individuals of any social group re- 
'semble one another in certain significant characteristics. 
It is well to lay stress upon developing individuality (pro- 
vided that we have some definite conception of what we 



THE SCHOOL ENVIRONMENT 259 

mean by such a process), but an educational system that 
would differentiate individuals in any wide measure would 
be socially disastrous. An American child, reared in a 
Chinese environment, by Chinese foster-parents, would 
find himself very inadequately adapted to meet the con- 
ditions of American life. Placed at maturity in an Amer- 
ican environment, he would possess an ''individuahty" 
that would quite preclude an effective social adjustment. 
In other words, social stability demands a certain "like- 
mindedness," — or, better, a rather complete resemblance 
among individuals in respect of dominant conduct-con- 
trols. Especially important is a "habit-likeness." 

It is a peculiar function of the organic life of the school 
to fulfill this condition. The more closely schools re- 
semble one another in certain important particulars, the 
more homogeneous and compact will be the body-politic. 
Here as elsewhere, of course, it is easy to see the danger 
that such condition involves. But here as elsewhere, 
the existence of the danger should not blind one to the 
manifest advantages that inhere in the condition. The 
task should be to determine the points where similarity 
is essential. Among these, the habits of morahty, eti- 
quette, speech, and the like, are clearly to be listed. Again, 
this harks back to the discussion of ideals and prejudices, 
for, after all, from the educational point of view, it is 
upon these factors that education must place its chief 
reliance. 



INDEX 



Ability, and genius, 83 f . 

Achievement, capacity for, 94 ; as ulti- 
mate goal, 114 flf.; ideal of, 176; in- 
stinctive basis for, 163. 

Acquired characters, non-inheritance 
of, II f., 14, 98 n. 

Adams, J., 50, 53. 

Adaptive instincts, 5 ff. ; and ideals, 
160; function of in education, 7 ff. 

Adjustment, i ff. ; negative, 231 f. 

Adolescent characteristics, 246 ff. 

Adopted sons. Popes', 84. 

Ages, ideals of respect for, 136, 176. 

Agriculture, as school subject, 148, 154, 
202. 

Aim of education, social, 108 ff. 

Algebra, 123, 146 f. {See also Mathe- 
matics.) 

Allen, J. W., 237. 

Altruism, ideals of, 176. 

Ambition, as an ideal, 178. 

American schools, weaknesses of, in 
drill, 137 f. ; idealism of, 165; social 
life of, 25s ff. 

Amusement, economic value of, 219 f. 

Analogy, danger of, in history, 142. 

Ancient languages, 211 ff. {See also 
Latin.) 

Andrews, B. R., 25. 

Angell, F., 195, 196. 

Annotations, use of, in teaching litera- 
ture, 222. 

Application, training in, 150. 

Applied science vs. pure science, 204 ff. 

Appreciation lesson, 63, 209. 

Approach, economic, in teaching, 209. 

Arithmetic, as school subject, 121, 123, 
131, 133, 138, 154, 228. 

Art, as school subject, 171, 220, 236; 
as source of ideals, 164. 

Assimilation, 37. 

V. Aster, E., 66. 



Attention, in habit-building, 18. 

Attitudes, xviii, 24, 65 ff. ; of con- 
sciousness, 24, 31, 65 ff., 74, 229 ff. ; 
and habits, 6g ; psychology of, 66 ff. 

Authority, ideals of, 178. 

Baldwin, J. M., 7. 

Behavior, i ff. ; human contrasted with 
animal, 3. 

Bentley, I. M., 38. 

Bewusstseinslagen, 66 ; as thought ele- 
ment, 31; genesis of, 35 n. 

BiGELOW, F. E., 148. 

Biography, as source of ideals, 164. 

Biology, as school subject, 147 ff., 202, 
235 f- 

Blandford, F. G., 243. 

Book, W. F., 35- 

Botany, as school subject, 147 ff., 187, 
202, 235 f. 

Bourne, H. E., 167, 237. 

Bright pupil, problem of, 256. 

Brothers, Pearson's study of, 90 ff. 

de CandoUe, A., 85. 

Capacity, 100; and heredity, 94; 

generalized, 117. 
Categorical imperative, 115. 
Cattell, J. McK., 86. 
Caution, as an ideal, 2x5. 
Charters, W. W., 60. 
Chemistry, 147 ff., 187, 202, 235 f. 
China, influence of education in, 98. 
Circular reaction, 7. 
Civics, 149. 

College, fraternities in, 249. 
Colvin, S. S., 182, 201. 
Composition, as school subject, 134, 

146, 147. 
Concept, definition of, 35 ; genesis of, 

34. {See also Idea and Meaning.) 
Concept-building, law of, 50. 



261 



262 



INDEX 



Concrete teaching, virtues and limita- 
tions of, 49. 

Conduct, xvii, i flf. ; evolution of, 
iiiflf. ; types of, 128; and inaction, 
44; and happiness, 113. 

Conduct-controls, xvii, 107; instinc- 
tive, I ff. ; acquired, 14 ff. ; specific 
habits as, 14 ff. ; ideas and meanings 
as, 27 flf. ; facts and principles as, 
27 ff. ; ideals and standards as, 54 
ff. ; attitudes and prejudices as, 64 ff. 

Conquest, consciousness of, 223. 

Consanguineal resemblances, 90 ff. 

Conscience, social, 112, 126. 

Conscious factor in transfer, 194 ff. 

Consciousness, constituents of, 28 ff. 

Contingent values, 122. 

Continuation schools, 49 n. 

Conventional value, 123 ff.; recogni- 
tion of, 126; of habits, 135 f.; of 
knowledge, 151. 

CooLEY, C. H., 104. 

CoovER, J. E., 19s, 196. 

Correctness, grammatical, value of, 130. 

Correlation, coefficient of, 90, 91 n. 

Cultural values, 229 ff. 

Culture, as a technical term in educa- 
tion, 229 f. 

Curiosity, instinct of, 6, 234. 

Dancing, as an educative agency, 251. 

Darwin, C, 96. 

Dearborn, W. F., 195. 

De Garmo, C, 582. 

Deductive development, 52. 

Democracy, ideal of, 166, 235 f. 

Development lesson, inductive, 52 ; 
deductive, 52. 

Deavey, J., 35, 242. 

Dickens, C, 169, 170. 

Direct values, contrasted with contin- 
gent, 122. 

Disciplinary functions, 180 ff.; defined, 
119. 

Disciplinary "values," 117. 

Discipline, formal, doctrine of, 180 ff. 

Domestic science, as school subject, 
148. 

Dramatic portrayal, and ideals, 169. 

Drawing, as school subject, 131, 133, 
14s; mechanical, 122. 



Dreams, Freud's theory of, 39 n. 
Drill, 138 ; instinctive basis for, 7. 
Duty, ideal of, 116. 

Ebert, E., 194. 

Economic efficiency, 148, 154, 181, 205, 
208, 235; and attitudes, 230; and 
ideals, 156; and enjoyment, 217. 

Education, and genius, 78 ff. ; and 
habit, 43; and instinct, 12 f . ; as 
conservation of experience, 14; and 
psychology, 116, 118; functions of, 
96 ff . ; general, and attitudes, 70 ; 
general functions of, 150 f., 230 ff. ; 
limitations of, 78 ff., 102 ff . ; religious, 
and ideals, 163. 

Efficiency, psychology of, 199; of 
ideals, 60. (See Economic Efficiency 
and Social Efficiency.) 

Eminence, conditions of, 82. 

Emotions, as ingredient of ideals, 55 
ff. ; and conduct, 115; and ideals, 
167; and religion, 172. 

Emulation, 162. 

England, as source of national ideals, 
165. 

English composition as school subject, 
134, 146, 147. 

EngUsh history, lessons from, 142 f. 

EngHsh public schools, 242 ff., 245 ff., 
248 f. 

Environment, as factor in conduct, 3 ; 
and heredity, 78 ff. ; as reflected in 
knowledge, 28; influence of, 85 f., 
89, 93 f ., 95, 99, loi ; school, 
as source of educative materials, 
242 ff. 

Equality of opportunity, as ideal, 165 ; 
development of by school Ufe, 255 ff. 

Etiquette, habits of, 135. 

Ethics, and education, 118. 

Eugenics, 98 n. 

Evolution, of conduct, 2 ff. ; in ff. 

Exceptions, prevention of in habit- 
building, 19. 

Experience, as a factor in control of 
conduct, 3 ; reaction of, upon con- 
sciousness, 36 ff. ; religious, 172; 
vicarious, 152, 167, 170. 

Exposition, in teaching, 51. 

Expository lesson, 52, 53. 



INDEX 



263 



Facts, as conduct-controls, xix, 27, 
35 ff., 47, 119 ft., 139 S. ; definition 
of, 35; genesis of, 46; specialized 
utility of, 150; utility of, 139 ff. 

Fear, instinct of, 162. 

FiNDLAY, J. J., 243, 254. 

Focalization, in habit-building, 17. 

Focus, of consciousness, and meaning, 
33- 

Formal discipline, 69, 117, 180 ff.; 
origin of doctrine of, 180 n. 

Fracker, G. C, 198. 

Fraternity, college, 249; high school, 
247 ff. 

French, as school subject, 146, 228. 
(See also Languages.) 

Freud, S., 9, 39, 103. 

Froude, J. A., 142. 

FuERST, Emma, 103, 104. 

Functions, classification of, 119 f . ; 
defined, 118 ; contrasted with values, 
117; educational, 117 ff. ; training, 
119, 128 ff.; instructional, 119, 139 
ff. ; inspirational, 119, 156 ff., 
180 ff. ; recreative, 120, 216 ff. ; in- 
terpretive, 120, 229 ff. 

Galton, F., 82, 83, 84, 85, 92, icx), 104, 
105. 

General education, functions of, 43, 150 
f., 230 ff., 233. 

Geneva, Illinois, Industrial School, 99. 

Genius, and education, 78 ff. ; as 
organic variation, 81 f . ; and envi- 
ronment, 85 f . ; and health, 100 f . 

Geography, as school subject, 41, 42, 
117, 123, 140, 151, 153, 228. 

Geometry, as school subject, 123. 
(See also Mathematics.) 

George Junior Republic, 252. 

Germ-cells, variations in, 94. 

German, as school subject, 146, 228. 
(See also Languages.) 

German history, lessons from, 143. 

German schools, 138. 

Gilbert, J. P., 207. 

Glossaries, use of, 222. 

Good manners, training in, 135. 

GouGH, J. B., 144. 

Grammar, as school subject, 124, 129 f., 
140, 228. 



Graves, F. P., 180. 

Greek, as school subject, 123, 211 ff. 

Groos, K., 5. 

Group instincts in adolescence, 246. 

Habit-likeness, in society, 259. 

Habits, xviii, 73, 119 «., 243 ; definition 
of, 23; distinguished from ideas, 
40 ff.; characteristics of, 15 ff. ; in 
education, 20 ff. ; of skill, 21; of 
manner, 21 ff.; and spelling, 16; 
and manual training, 2 1 ; general- 
ized, 23 ; of thought, 23 ; and judg- 
ment, 26; as related to attitudes, 
69; as controls of conduct, 15 ff.; 
utility of, 121, 129 ff. ; preparatory 
value of, 133 ff . ; conventional value 
of, 135 f. ; socializing value of, 136 f ., 

2S9- 

Habit-building, 40; law of, 17 ff.; im- 
portance of, 137; in activities of 
school life, 258. 

Hall, G. S., 6. 

Happiness, and social evolution, 113; 
and conduct, 113; as sanction, no 
ff. 

Harris, W. T., 213. 

Hayward, F. H., 105. 

Heck, W. H., 200. 

Herbart, J. F., 50, 181. 

Heredity, and environment, loi ; as 
factor in conduct, 3; of modifica- 
tions, II f.; in royalty, 87 ff., 95; 
in twins, 92 ff. ; in brothers, 90 ff. 

High school, curriculum of, 134 f., 145 
ff., 153 ff., 202, 204 ff., 207, 212 f., 
221 ff., 224f., 228, 235 f., 237 ff. ; 
organization of, 245 ff. ; pupil self- 
government in, 252 ff. ; fraternities 
in, 247 ff. 

Hinsdale, B. A., 182. 

History, as a school subject, 73, 117, 
140 f., 148, 151, 154, 164 ff., 224 ff., 
237 f . ; as engendering attitudes, 67, 
237 f. ; as engendering ideals, 164 
ff. ; utiUty of, 140 ff. 

Household science, as a school subject, 
148. 

HuEY, E. B., 131. 

Huxley, T. H., 96, 148. 

Hygiene, 143 f., 154. 



264 



INDEX 



Ideals, xviii, 53, 54 &., 74, 118, 136, 
152, 156 fF. ; compared with ideas, 
53, 55 ff-; definition of, 58; and 
economic efficiency, 156; and emo- 
tions, 158; and knowledge, 153; as 
agents in transfer, 190 £f. ; method- 
ology of, 62 ; and instincts, 56 £f., 
158; nature of, 55 ff. ; national, 
164 f.; utility of, 121; transmission 
of, 163 ff. ; derived from school life, 
243 ff. ; lists of, 17s ff., 214 f. 

Ideas, xviii, 26 ff., 74; definition of, 
S3 ; formation of, 41 ; as conduct- 
controls, 27; compared with habits, 
40 ff . ; compared with ideals, 53, 
55 f., 57 ff., 157; methodology of, 
48 ff. ; value of, 139 ff. 

Identity, of substance, 186, 193 ; of 
procedure, 186, 193; of aim, 193. 

Illusions, of youth, 244. 

Image, and meaning, 33. 

Imageless thought, 35 «. 

Imagination, constructive, 38 ; passive, 
38. 

Imitation, as an instinct, 7 ; and ideals, 
162. 

Individualism, fallacies of, no, 113 f., 
259. 

Individualistic instincts, 9 ff., 169; and 
ideals, 159. 

Induction, in concept-building, 51 f . ; 
limitations of, 51. 

Inductive development lesson, 52. 

Initiative, in habit-building, 18, 19; 
ideals of, 177. 

Inspirational functions, 156 ff. ; de- 
fined, 119. 

Instincts, xvii, 3 ff., 104; defined, 4; 
as controls of conduct, 3 ff. ; as basis 
of habit, 17; and ideals, 56 ff., 158; 
relation of, to education, 12 f . ; adap- 
tive, 5 ff., 13 ; individualistic, 9 ff., 
158 f., 169; sex and parental, 10, 13, 
158, 169; social, 10 ff. ; in man as 
compared with animals, 11. 

Instruction, spirit of, 202. 

Instructional functions, 139 ff.; de- 
fined, 119. 

Integrity, ideals of, 176. 

Intelligence, and conduct, no ff. ; 
general, functions of, 230 ff. 



Interpretive functions, 229 ff. ; de- 
fined, 120. 

James, W., 182, 

Japan, influence of education in, 98; 

intelligence of soldiers, 132 n. 
Jennings, H. S., 2. 
Jones, E., 10, 103. 
JuDD, C. H., 66, 67. 
Judgment, as process in transfer, 190 ff. 
Jung, C. G., 70, 103. 

Kant, I., 115, 116. 

Kinaesthetic sensations, in perception, 

28; in meaning, 32 w. 
Kinship, as a factor in ideals, 168. 
KiRKPATRiCK, E. A., 6, 7, 132. 
Knowledge, xviii, 27 ; functions of, 68; 

tentative definition of, 27 ; utility 

of, 121, 139 ff. ; functions of, 139 ff. ; 

relativity of, 43; as a guide, 153; 

liberal, functions of, 230 ff. 
Kuropatkin, 132. 

Langlois, C. v., 141. 

Language, habits of, 22; as medium 
of instruction, 152; as school sub- 
ject, 123, 133, 140, 145. (See also 
English, Latin, etc.) 

Languages, ancient, 211 ff . ; modern 
foreign, 134, 147, 228. (See also Eng- 
lish, Latin, etc.) 

Latin, 123, 135, 211 ff. 

Leadership, as determining ideals, 245. 

Lessons, types of, 52 f. 

Liberal knowledge, functions of, 230 f. 

Liberalizing functions, 232 ff. 

Lincoln, A., 81, 168. 

Literature, 146, 147, 151, 164, 169 ff., 
220 ff., 236, 238 ff. 

Lloyd, M. A., 148. 

Locke, J., 180. 

Logical procedure, as ideal, 214. 

Love, parental, 175; as ideal, 178. 

Manual training, habits in, 21; as 
school subject, 117, 132, 134, 145, 225. 

Marbe, K., 66. 

Margin, of consciousness, and mean- 
ing, 32 n. 

Mathematics, 117, 146 f., 151, 187, 
190 f., 202, 203, 204, 209 f., 228. 



INDEX 



265 



Mayer, A., 31, 66, loi. 

McCoRMACK, T. J., 210. 

McMuRRY, C. A., so. 

McMuRRY, F. M., 50. 

Meanings, xviii, 74, 152, 240; defini- 
tion of, 34 ; simple, 41 ; nature of, 
31 ; as conduct-controls, 27 ff. ; and 
ideas, 31; genesis of, 31 f. ; kin- 
aesthetic factors in, 32 n. 

Memory, transfer of, 194 ff., 197 ; sig- 
nificance of experiments on, 241. 

Method, concepts of, 201 ; importance 
of, 202. 

Methodology, of habits, 17 ff.; of 
knowledge, 48 ff.; of ideals, 71; of 
attitudes and prejudices, 62. 

Methods, of teaching, 17 ff., 48 ff., 62, 
71, 76. **■ 

Meumann, E., 194. 

Mill, J. S., 82. 

Moral law, 116. 

Morality, and heredity, 87 ff., 99, 100 
n. ; ideals of, 243 ff. ; habits of, 136. 

Mueller, G. E., 195, 198. 

Music, as a school subject, 131, 145, 
171 ff., 220, 

Nature study, as a school subject, 

226 f. 
Negative adjustment, 231 f. 
Nervous system, in control of conduct, 

2f. 

Newton, I., 96. 

Nonsense syllables, experiments with, 

194 ff. 
Normative vs. positive sciences, 118. 

NORS WORTHY, NaOMI, 1 87. 

Number arts, (^ee Arithmetic.) 

Objective teaching, 50 ff. 
Observation, ideals of, 214. 
Odin, A., 85. 
Oral expression, 130 f. 
Organization, value of, 206. 
Orth, J., 31, 66, loi. 
O'SnEA, M. v., 242, 251. 

Pain, and conduct, no ff. 
Parental instincts, 10, 13, 158, 175. 
Patriotism, ideals of, 177. 
Payot, J., 158. 



Pearson, K., 90, 91, 92, 94, 99, 104, 105. 

Peary, R. E., 55. 

Perception, definition of, 28, 33 ; mean- 
ing in, 30 f. 

Perspectives, 24, 68, 74, 229 ff., 244; 
as control of conduct, 65 ff. ; his- 
torical, 238. 

Philosophy, 236. 

Physical geography, as a school sub- 
ject, 147 ff., 202, 235. 

Physics, as a school subject, 42, 123, 
147 ff., 1S7, 202, 235 f. 

Physiology, as a school subject, 143 f., 
154- 

Pillsbury, W. B., 230. 

Play, instinct of, 5 ff . ; theories of, 6 ; 
and ideals, 161. 

Pleasure, and conduct, 1 10 ff ., 1 14 ; 
and efi&ciency, 217 ff. 

Popes' adopted sons, 84. 

Practical values, 121. 

Prejudices, xviii, 24, 74, 136, 153; defi- 
nition of, 74 ; nature of, 64 f . ; as 
controls of conduct, 64 f.; and 
habits, 69. 

Preparatory values, 122 f.; of habits, 
133 ; of knowledge, 152. 

Principles, xviii ; nature of, 47 ; as 
conduct-controls, 47, 118, 119 n.; 
utility of, 139 ff. ; specialized utility 
of, ISO. 

Progress, human, 12; social, 114 ff. 

Propensity, 24, 64, 69. 

Property, ideals of, 177. 

Psycho-analysis, 10, 104. 

Psychology, of meaning, 30 ff. ; of 
ideals, 24s f. ; of transfer, 183 ff. ; 
as furnishing explanatory principles 
of function, 118. 

Pure science vs. applied science, 204 ff., 
233- 

Purpose, ideals as determining, S9, iS3' 

Race, primacy of, 112; improvement 
of, through breeding, 98 n. ; as cri- 
terion of value, no. 

Racial differences, in ideals, 164. 

Reading, as a school subject, 130, 131. 

Reasoning, ideals of, 202, 208, 214. 

Recreative functions, 216 ff. ; defined, 

X20. 



266 



INDEX 



Reflex movement, 4. 

Rein, W., 50. 

Religion, as source of ideals, 172; 

function of, 173. 
Religious Education Association, report 

on high school morals, 249 n. 
Religious education, and ideals, 163. 
Religious experience, 172. 
Repetition, instinct of, 7 f.; in habit 

building, 18 f. 
Reverence, instinctive basis for, 162 ; 

ideals of, 163. 
Rhetoric, as school subject, 146. 
Rome, lessons from history of, 142. 
Rousseau, J. J., 9, 20. 
RowE, S. H., 6, 18, 25. 
Royalty, heredity in, 87 £f., 95. 
RuEDiGER, W. C, 102, 108, 121, 123, 

152, 191, 192, 193, 200, 229. 
RuGER, H. A., 18, 199, 200, 201. 

Sadler, M. E., 243. 

School environment, as source of edu- 
cative materials, 242 flf. 

Schools, habit-building in, 137 f . ; 
^habits trained in, 128 ff. 

Science, pure vs. applied, 204 flf., 233 ; 
as a school subject, 73, 147 flf., 202, 
232, 23s f. 

Scientific method, ideals of, 204 &., 214. 

Scott, C. A., 242, 253. 

Secondary schools, life in English, 242, 
245 f. (See also High Schools.) 

Seignobos, C, 141. 

Selection, natural, in human race, 97 f . ; 
in mind, 112. 

Self-denial, ideals of, 60. 

Self-government, ideals of, 166, 177; 
in schools, 245 ff., 252 ff., 253 n. 

Self-reliance, ideals of, 177. 

Self-sacrifice, as ideal, 176. 

Sensations, as elements of conscious- 
ness, 28. 

Sex, instincts of, 10, 13, 158, 169; and 
ideals, 159. 

Sexual love, ideals of, 178. 

Shorey, p., 213. 

Skill, habits of, 21, 128. 

Smith, H. B., 243. 

Social aim of education, xviii, 107 ff., 
120. 



Social achievement, 114 f. 
Social conscience, 112, 126. 
Social efficiency, as aim of education, 

xviii, 107 flf., 120, 235; and ideals, 

156 flf.; and enjoyment, 216 flf, ; 

characteristics of, 107. 
Social heredity, 14. 
Social ostracism, 247 f. 
Social stigma, 112. 
Socializing values, 126 f.; of habits, 

136 flf., 258 f. ; of knowledge, 152 f. ; 

of ideals, 156 flf., 180 ff., 242 ff. ; of 

attitudes, 229 flf.; of tastes, 216 ff. 
Societies, in high schools, 254 f. 
Society, destiny of, 113 flf. 
Spearman, C, 91 n., 92. 
Spelling, as illustrating habit, 16; as 

school subject, 124, 228. 
Spencer, H., 5, 50, 141, 143, 144, 148, 

181, 216. 
Spread of training, 180 ff. 
Squire, Carrie R., 188. 
Standards, developed in school life, 

250 f . ; emotionalized, 74. 
Stout, G. F., 25. 
Strayer, G. D., 63, 102. 
Study, training in art of, 150. 
Symbols, as focal representatives of 

concepts, 34 ; use of, 39 f . 
Sympathy, instinctive basis for, 159; 

as ideal, 176. 

Tarde, G., 7. 

Tastes, 24, 74, 109; and habits, 69; 

as conduct-controls, 64 f. 
Taylor, C. ©.,32. 
Teacher, as controlling force in school 

environment, 251 ; importance of 

attitude of, 72 ; quaUties of merit in, 

102 n. 
Temperance, 158; physiology as school 

subject, 144; ideals of, 176. 
Ten Commandments, influence of, 173. 
Theoretical values, 240 f. 
Thomson, J. A., 99, 100. 
Thorndike, E. L., 30, 86, 91, 93, 100, 

115, 183, 184, 185, 186, 190, 193. 
Thought, constructive, 40; imageless, 

35 n. 
TiTCHENER, E. B., 31, 32, 66. 
Training functions, 128 ff.; defined, 119. 



INDEX 



267 



Transfer of training, 180 flf. 

Truth, passion for, 160; ideals of, 176. 

Twins, studies of, 92 ff. 

Universities, utility of language teach- 
ing in, 146. 

Utilitarian values, 120 ff., 202, 205; 
of habits, 129 fif. ; of knowledge, 
139 £f. ; of ideals, 156. 

Value, criterion of, 107 ff . ; contingent, 
122; direct, 122. 

Values, distinguished from functions, 
117 ff. ; classification of, 120 ff. ; 
utilitarian, 120 ff., 129 ff., 139 ff., 
156; conventional, 123 ff., 135 f., 

, 151; preparatory, 122 f., 133, 152; 
socializing, 126 f., 136 ff., 258 f., 
152 f., 156 ff., 180 ff., 229 ff., 216 ff. 



Variation, organic, and genius, 80 ff. ; 

in germ-cells, 89. 
Vicarious experience, 152, 167, 170, 
Vocational education, 151, 257 f. 

War, ideals of, 178. 

Ward, L. F., 85, 103, 104. 

Washburn, Margaret F., 37. 

Welton, J., 243. 

Whipple, G. M., 91. 

Winch, W. H., 197. 

Womanhood, ideals of respect for, 136, 

176. 
Woods, F. A., 87, 88, 99, 104, 105. 
WooDwoRTH, R. S., 31, 183, 187, 190, 

195- 
Work, capacity for, 83, 100. 
Writing, as school subject, 133. 

Young, J. W. A., 122, 202. 



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